Demon Hunter
by Shivakashi
Summary: REVISED. PostOOTP Harry's summer takes an unexpected turn when the guardian of the 7th gate of Hell shows up and offers to train him as a demon hunter. BadAss!Harry. Older!Future!Mentor!Inuyasha. Rated for language i.e. Inu's mouth
1. The Book

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or Inuyasha---etc. etc. etc... You get the deal.

**EDIT:** I have gone through everything, absolutely everything, in every chapter and smoothed out the story quite a bit. That means getting rid of those annoying 'lose' – 'loose' and 'to' – 'too' errors as well as some nasty clichés. I also added a few scenes.

**The Book**

A red Mercedes pulled into the gravel driveway at number four Privet Drive, rocks crackling under its weight, slowed to a park just outside the of the garage.

A thin, long-necked blonde woman first exited the vehicle, stepping from the passenger's side. A saccharine smile plastered its way across her face in a conditioned reaction as she waved readily to the neighbors next-door. The door on the driver's side opened next and up stepped a large, staunch man with a thick mustache and a grumpy mien. He shut his door with much more force than necessary and doddered to the trunk without giving his surroundings so much as a glance.

The third person to leave the car exited from the back right seat. He was a heavy-set young man with thick, blond hair gelled into a quiff. The boy simply shut the car door and scurried into the house, followed closely by his parents.

Finally, the very last occupant of the car dragged himself out with deliberately slow movements and walked to the back of the car where his uncle had kindly left the trunk open. He heaved out a large, heavy-looking trunk with one hand while using his other to pull out an empty cage and, after some maneuvering to shut the trunk, proceeded to drag both up the walkway.

The boy was thin, making his average height seem less so, with wild black hair and thick, round glasses hiding once brilliant-green eyes. Those eyes were now haunted, filled with regret and anger and self-loathing. Those eyes belonged to Harry Potter.

The boy-who-lived.

The boy who just killed his godfather.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Lugging his trunk up the stairs had become increasingly easier with every year Harry returned to the Dursley's, not that he would ever notice. He continued up the stairs with a scowl on his face, his trunk loudly smashing into each step, the cage rattling wildly against his thigh. He didn't care how much noise he made. What were his relatives going to do about it? They were scared shitless after the little threat Moody gave them.

After much clattering Harry finally made it to his room. He placed Hedwig's empty cage on his desk and deposited his trunk at the foot of his bed. A faint clanging sounded near the bottom of it, most likely the broken pieces of the mirror his godfather gave him. Harry didn't want to look at them right now; it hurt too much. He had hoped his anger would deflate some during his last week at Hogwart's—and it had. But one look at his summer 'prison' and it all came rushing back to him.

'_Just like Sirius,'_ Harry thought miserably, glancing about the dusty, drab setting.

Would he meet an end much like his godfather's? Locked away until he was desperate enough to sacrifice his life for a bit of fresh air? Or would Dumbledore keep him in storage and take him out only to land the final blow to Voldemort?

He tried to think of any spells he knew that could take out such a monster aside from the obvious. He even tried to focus on the hopelessness of his situation, of how screwed the wizarding world could be because of one, stupid prophecy. Yet his thoughts always strayed back to Sirius, and those thoughts always gave rise to the same emotional reaction. His heart filled with a now familiar pain and he wished he could ease that heavy feeling in his chest and that sickness in his stomach, if only for a moment. Perhaps then he could think clearly.

"_THEN I DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN!"_

Harry frowned as the words he shouted a week ago echoed hauntingly in his mind. Humanity. Would it be worth it? To give up humanity if only to end the pain? It could make him stronger, that he knew. Without human needs and emotions he would be free of mind to focus on gaining power. Voldemort was able to use his own powers to their full potential because he never felt any guilt or remorse. _Because he wasn't human_. Harry had that power too—he just needed to apply himself, make some sacrifices...

'_No!_' Harry thought angrily, '_don't think like that._'

He could not start thinking like Voldemort. He was better than that. He was simply experiencing a moment of weakness. He would get through this; he had to be strong—for Sirius's memory at the very least.

Suddenly feeling very heavy, Harry sank down onto the creaky, broken-in mattress and sighed, running a hand over his face.

Life sucked, and it wasn't about to get any better.

Despite his current mood, Harry couldn't stop a wry smile form forming on his face. After all the psychological torture he'd been, intentionally or not, directed through in his life via Dumbledore's decisions, he had to wonder if he was supposed to defeat Voldemort or become him.

'_You'd think the man would take better care of his _precious weapon_.'_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

For three more days Harry stayed in his room mourning in the only way he knew; immobility and brooding. He mourned for his Godfather, the chance to have a real family, and his future in general. While he was at it, he contemplated about his part in the death of Cedric Diggory and the death of his parents, as well as Voldemort's resurrection. He almost never left his room unless he needed the bathroom or to nibble on a bit of food. The Dursley's had next to no qualms about his behavior. The longer he stayed out of their sight the better.

The routine Harry adopted may have continued for at least another week, if not for a strange occurrence on his fourth day back from Hogwarts. That morning, Harry woke to find an unfamiliar weight resting on his feet. He groggily fumbled for his glasses and propped himself up on his elbows to have a better look at the foot of his bed. There, weighing down on his legs, was a large, thick book. From where he was positioned the leather cover looked cracked and musty, revealing it's age. Harry looked for an owl or any sort of way of delivery but found none. Even his window was closed.

For one wild moment he thought the Dursley's left it on him, but dismissed the in the next second. The only Dursley light enough to sneak up on him while he slept was Aunt Petunia, and she would never touch anything covered in such a thick coating of filth.

Grabbing his wand from his bedside table, he cautiously crawled out from under his covers and to the end of his bed to get a better look at it.

He had to blow away some dust so he could read the title with less difficulty. The title of the book that would change his life forever.

_**Blood Magic and Rituals**_

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o


	2. A New Resolve

**A New Resolve**

Harry continued to stare at the book on his bed.

'_What the hell?'_

He decided the moment he saw it, it would be a bad idea to touch the book. Just incase it was a portkey. The last thing he needed was to be kidnapped and used to resurrect another dark lord.

Harry visibly shuddered at the memory. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he grabbed his wand and pointed it at the book...

And then poked it.

Nothing happened.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he set aside his wand and carefully picked up the book with his hands. The leather cover felt cool against his skin and it was surprisingly light for the amount of text it appeared to have. Harry ran his hands along the cracked bindings only to find his fingers tracing strange runes burned into the leather. The shiny black of the symbols camouflaged into the dark-brown skin of the book's face and could easily be missed.

Harry slowly curled his fingertips around the insides of the cover and tugged it carefully.

The book wouldn't open.

He pulled harder—digging his fingernails into the leather. It still wouldn't budge. Sighing in defeat, Harry frowned dejectedly and tossed the book onto the bed. He noticed there was an odd feeling of excitement fluttering in his chest when he held the book and he was unable to turn away from it. He read the cover again.

_**Blood Magic and Rituals**_

_Blood Magic..._

Harry stared at the title.

_Blood..._

His instincts were screaming at him. But it was crazy—it was sick. Then again...he was a wizard. And after some of the things he's seen...

With a look of newfound determination he began searching frantically for anything sharp. Finding nothing in sight Harry hopped over the edge of his bed and landed in a crouch next to his trunk. The lid was immediately thrown backwards and he began battling through the sea of robes and books until he hit the bottom. One of his hands grasped the cold jagged edge of a shard of the broken mirror. He pulled it from his trunk and walked calmly back over to his bed.

'_I'm sorry Sirius,'_ Harry thought and he poised the once gift from his godfather over the book. He made a shallow cut on the tip of his index finger and watched the blood collect and bead under the appendage. The surface tension snapped and a single droplet of blood fell through the air before splashing onto the aged cover of the book. Harry held his breath as nothing happened. Maybe he needed more blood?

As if an enormous gust of wind suddenly blew through the open window, the book flew open; pages flipping through magically until they reached the beginning paragraph. Harry sat in awe as a warm power seemed to wash over him. It was comforting, invigorating.

With slightly shaking hands, he lifted the book up and began to read through the introduction.

In summary, blood magic was what was known as wild magic: unknown whether to be completely dark or light. It could easily be used for both purposes and always required some amount of blood. The more powerful and complicated a spell or ritual—the more blood required. Not everyone had the ability to use blood magic. Those with a pure soul would be unable to wield it because of the sinister process of taking blood.

It was dangerous. It was immoral. It was perfect.

'_Voldemort,'_ Harry thought with smirk that would make Malfoy proud, _'You're going down.'_

_0o0o0o

* * *

_

_0o0o0o_

The next morning Harry woke up bright and early at six A.M.. The day before had him banishing his sorrows and worries to the back of his mind and seeking comfort in the mysterious gift bestowed upon him. He knew it was dangerous to trust something that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, especially since it pertained to 'wild magic', something some might argue as dark. But Harry knew in his heart and instincts that this was something he was meant for. It just felt _right_. Most importantly, it would give him the edge he needed to finish and survive the war.

And with a brighter, more confident outlook on his destiny, Harry managed to scrounge up a resolve to go all the way in this saving-the-world business. And that included fixing himself

Pulling on a pair of sweatpants and one of Dudley's old T-shirts, Harry slipped on some sneakers and snuck out the front door. Without delay, he started a light jog. He wanted to take it slow at first, so not to over exert himself, and gradually work up to a good stamina. After all, he hadn't been running much since his "Harry hunting" days.

Oh, one could count on a bit of running from a pack of ravenous arachnids, crazed werewolves, and a few sadistic death eaters, but that was nothing compared to 'Big D' and his gang. Harry suspected was in better shape than most wizards his age, especially the purebloods (who probably considered getting up to physically look for something 'muggle') even if he was a bit on the runty side. The combined efforts of demanding chores from the Dursleys and Quidditch helped tone his body into a respectable shape, but not near enough for what he needed to be in. Power was useless without stamina to back it up.

Harry returned from his jog about forty-five minutes later with the front of his shirt soaked in sweat. Being completely winded with a stitch in his side let him know how much more out-of-shape he actually was. He ran upstairs with jellied legs and proceeded to execute several basic sit-ups and pushups before stretching out to prevent any pulled muscles, as he vaguely recalled learning about from primary school gym class. Afterwards he jumped into the shower before heading down to cook breakfast for the family.

The Dursley's were a bit shocked to see him cooking breakfast for them again after being a recluse for the last few days, but were silently thankful. Though they'd never admit it, Aunt Petunia's omelets paled in comparison to Harry's.

Harry spent the rest of the day in his room reading his book and trying out different types small rituals, such as vanishing things or making small shields out of blood. The most advanced he'd gotten in the Book was creating and controlling tiny blood whips.

Not once in his trials was he sent a letter from the ministry.

Heartened by such progress, Harry continued this schedule everyday. Everyday he would grow gradually stronger magically, mentally, and physically. He would not be taking shit from Dumbledore, Fudge, or Voldemort. By the end of this war—they would respect him.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Harry stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes and whistling an unknown tune. The Dursleys were due to be up sometime within the next ten minutes. As he walked away from the stove for a moment to grab some juice glasses, he ran a hand through his damp hair and noted that it now ran well past his ears.

Usually his hair seemed to regulate itself, but perhaps his desire to change had made his hair grow as well.

A loud thumping noise shook the loose plaster from the ceiling as his uncle made his way down the stairs, shortly followed by his son. Dudley had lost a great deal of weight over his last year at Smeltings. While he still looked heavy, more of the arm muscle he developed in boxing was visible and a lot of his acne cleared up. Lately he and his gang took to hunting girls rather than small defenseless children. Had Harry not been so engrossed with his new book, he would have gladly spent time laughing at whatever pitiful advances Dudley employed on Little Whinging's females.

Harry silently served his uncle and cousin and set a plate aside for his aunt before dishing some out for himself.

"Boy," his uncle grunted while fixing him a glare, "The lawn needs to be mowed and your aunt wants the garden weeded before lunch today."

"Alright," Harry said passively. In truth, he did not mind the manual labor his relatives assigned him. It helped keep his mind off Sirius—which it was oft to do when he didn't have the Book in hand. His aunt chose that moment to enter the kitchen. She granted him one, petty sneer before sitting down at the table to eat.

Breakfast soon finished and Harry began cleaning dishes while his aunt and uncle discussed what was wrong with the world. Dudley seated himself in the living room to watch some T.V.. All was right in the Dursley home.

Deciding it would be better to get the lawn work done now before the sun got too hot, Harry made his way towards the front door.

"_It's Reg, Reginald Fairfield!"_ laughter and applause sounded from the T.V. as Harry passed the living room. He rolled his eyes at some of the dumb sitcoms his cousin wasted time watching.

The weeding took longer than Harry had expected it to; most likely from the neglect it suffered while he was away for the year. It was almost eleven by the time he rolled the mower out of the shed. The sun had heated up to unbearable degrees and Harry was forced to remove his shirt before he sweated to death. He grimaced as he gazed at his light complexion. While not overly pale, he was in dire need of a tan and made a small vow that by the next time he saw Hermione he would at least be as dark as her.

He paused to cast an amused smile at himself. What a vain thought.

By the next half hour, Harry only managed to finish half of the lawn. He could tell by the random catcalls and snickering from one of the hedges by the road that Tonks was on duty. Therefore he made it a habit to make discreet, rude gestures in that particular direction.

"HEY SEXY!" a loud, feminine voice called from across the street. Harry's head snapped up and, to his surprise, saw an attractive, young woman running towards him from across the street. She wore a tight, white t-shirt that stretched across her large bust and revealed her midriff along with _very_ short, red shorts and clunky, black hiking boots. Her light-brown hair was swept back in a half-ponytail and she looked to be a little older than he was.

There was no way in hell she was talking to him; she was just way out of his league. From his left he could hear an increasingly annoying snicker. Harry made a mental note to beat Tonks with that damn umbrella stand she always tripped over.

"Hi there!" the girl said warmly as she hopped in front of his face. Harry nearly swallowed his own tongue in shock; apparently she _was_ talking to him.

He hastened to turn off the mower and then turned to face her, casually resting his thumbs in his back pockets. Unseen to the girl, he let his weary fingers brush his pocketed wand. Damn whatever Moody said—he'll put his damn wand wherever the hell he wants to.

Harry unconsciously blew some of his long bangs out of his eyes as he watched her. A small habit he picked up sometime before the end of his 5th year.

"Hey," he said as coolly as possible, hoping against hope that he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

"So anyway..." the girl continued, "I was chilling across the street over there and saw a potential sex god—which would be you, incase you're that slow—and I got this insane urge to turn you into my sex slave. I thought I should ask you before I took you by force."

Harry stared at her.

What...the hell?

He must have looked pretty dumfounded because the girl sighed with exasperation at his silence.

"So, what's your name?" she asked. "Unless you want me to call you 'sex god'?"

Just after she said this, a dreamy and lustful expression passed over her face. Harry continued to stare at her. This had got to be the weirdest chick he'd ever met. Of course it wasn't like he'd talked to a lot of girls before, being locked in a cupboard for the majority of his life and all that. He could tell that she was American by her accent and wondered if all of them were like this overseas.

Harry didn't want to tell her his name in unlikely case she was a witch, so just to be on the safe side: "It's Reg, Reginald Fairfield."

He blinked several times, not understanding his own response. Now where the hell did _that_ come from?

The girl stared hard at him for a long while—as if she knew he was lying.

"Shiva!"

Harry and the strange American girl both turned to face a young man with a short, dark ponytail jogging across the lawn to where they were standing. Harry immediately recognized him.

0o0o0o0

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0o0o0o0

Yep… that took awhile.

Just FYI- this is NOT a Mary-Sue. Ew. Yuck. Dirty. I hate those. They make me physically ill. These characters are temporary.

Secondly...yes, the title has **a lot** to do with Harry.

Also: I know the whole blood magic thingy is kind of sketchy but this is how it's going be for the story—blood magic that had to do with actual physical blood, that you can touch and manipulate, is the 'iffy' stuff. The blood magic involving Harry's safety involves relations; it has a more figurative meaning. If that made any sense at all. Whatev.


	3. Yard Work and Propositions

**Yard work and Propositions**

_Harry had no good reason to be wandering around in Hogsmeade under an invisibility cloak. Not only was he banned from all Hogsmeade trips but his OWLS were to be taken __in a week and studying was something he could stand to put a little more effort into._

_However, all Harry wanted was some time to get out of the castle—away from Umbridge, his visions, and the impending OWLS._

_He wandered aimlessly around the dry, crowded grounds for about an hour before growing restively tired of having the stuffy cloak draped over him. Convincing himself that it wouldn't hurt for some fresh air, Harry flattened against the tall brick wall of one of the shops and glanced around tensely—no one was watching. He cautiously slipped the cloak from his body and folded it up in his arms._

_Someone tapped him on the shoulder._

_Harry had his wand under the person's chin before he had fully looked the stranger in the face._

_It was a teenager, not much older than he was, with a tall athletic build and dark brown hair pulled back in a little ponytail at the base of his neck. Harry could tell by his features that he had an oriental background. The man was dressed in muggle attire and judging by the way he stared at Harry's wand in absolute bemusement he most likely was a muggle._

_Harry wearily lowered his wand from the stranger's neck and spoke curtly, "May I help you?"_

"_You Harry Potter?" the guy asked. He seemed to have regained his composure after Harry removed his wand from his face._

"_Yeah..." Harry said suspiciously._

"_Tai Kamiya," the boy introduced himself, holding out a hand. "Guardian to the Digital World."_

"_Uh…?" was Harry's intelligent response as he distractedly shook Tai's hand as switching his wand to his left. Tai threw a neighborly arm around Harry's shoulders and led him off away from the crowds and out the other end of the alley._

"_Harry my good man...you don't mind if I call you Harry do you? Well anyway, I have a proposition for you..."_

_For the next two hours Harry's view on everything outside the wizarding world was skewed to the point of no return. For starters he learned that there were many different dimensions on the planet Earth. One of them being the Digital World, a world created from pure data. Also, while humans were the dominant specie in the Mortal Realm, as it was called, there were other breeds that mingled within them. Such as demons. That was the one that threw Harry for a loop. While he was never religious, he always thought of demons as something the church made up. Apparently they were real. So was Hell, seeing as it was an ally to this 'Digital World' Tai spoke of as well as a far more neutral orientation than most humans believed._

_And Tai...he himself wasn't even human. He was some sort of demi fire-god...a possible variation of the heliopaths the wizarding world knew them as._

_By this point, Harry was so overwhelmed with so much information that he waved it off the claim. It took Tai throwing off his human cover-up in another vacant alleyway to convince Harry that his tale was real._

_The reason Tai had sought out Harry was because of a self-appointed mission to unite many of the different worlds in some manner and gain potential allies if trouble ever arises. Originally Tai planned on reaching the ministry, but found them most disagreeable. That, Harry could relate to._

_It seemed that Tai had decided to target someone he could relate to better, someone who still had influential power, no matter if it was untapped, and came up with Harry._

_Harry informed the representative that he'd have to think on it. There was no chance in hell he could answer an offer such as that. Everything seemed so far-fetched that Harry was half convinced Tai was a distant relative of Luna's._

_They parted on amicable terms. However, as soon as Harry got back to the castle, he remembered none of it._

0oo0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Harry frowned as the memory came back to him. Why hadn't he remembered his encounter with Tai after he got back from Hogsmeade? He filed the oddity in his mind as something he'd think on later. At that moment, Tai had reached them.

"Hey, Harry. I am _so_ sorry about this. She made me take her with me," Tai grimaced at his own lame excuse. "Oh yeah! This is Shiva. Shiva, this is Harry Potter."

Harry felt himself stiffen unconsciously at the mention of his full name, as he often did with introductions.

Wait...her name was Shiva...that would mean that she was the half-demon Tai mentioned during their discussion—another guardian of the digital world. Harry looked at her longer and could find no trace of her being a demon. It made him wonder just how many people were walking around with demon blood...or any non-human blood for that matter.

"But he told me his name was Reg!" Shiva whined.

Tai looked at Harry incredulously.

"Did you get that off of 'Boy Meets World'?" he asked.

So _that_ was what Dudley was watching earlier.

Harry just grinned at him, unsure of how to respond while finding no threat at the moment in Tai or Shiva. Tai laughed at his impish response.

"So what brings you here?" Harry asked. He was suddenly in a good mood. If felt nice being able to talk with other people...even if they weren't all human.

"You have a really sexy accent!" Shiva exclaimed, suddenly very excited.

Harry looked at her feeling mildly confused, "Erm...you came here for my accent?"

Another witty response. Hadn't he been try to look cool in front of her before?

Tai bopped Shiva on the head. Harry didn't often see guys who physically hit women so openly. Shiva didn't seem to mind it.

"Stop it," Tai commanded. He turned to Harry. "Can we talk inside?"

"Sure," Harry replied easily, without thinking. Just as he started to walk towards the house he realized that his relatives would not be happy with any company of his.

'_Well'_, he thought, '_now is a good as time as any to put Moody's threat to use.'_

He stopped and faced the pair behind him, "Just agree with anything I say, ok?"

Tai and Shiva nodded before following him into the ridiculously clean house. The group didn't make it five feet into the hallway before his aunt heatedly swooped down on them.

"Who are these people?" she hissed at Harry while shooting Tai and Shiva dirty looks. Her eyes dodged around suspiciously and she craned her neck to look out the window. Probably hoping no one saw her deranged nephew associating with normal looking people, "You are not to be bringing more freaks into this house!"

"My headmaster sent them," Harry said calmly "He thought I could use a little company. Don't worry; we'll be quiet. You won't even know we're here..."

He breezed by her up the stairs while Tai and Shiva followed. But not without shooting his aunt strange looks.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"I can tell they like you," Tai said sarcastically as he eyed Harry's 'bedroom'. Harry shrugged not really caring what they thought of him or his relatives and picked up an oversized shirt from the floor and put it on.

"So you're a wizard?" Shiva asked him as she plopped down at his desk and rifled though his homework, much to Harry's amusement.

"Shiva! Get out of that!" Tai yelled at her.

"No, it's ok. As long as she doesn't destroy it. That's my summer homework," Harry said.

"Oh, WOW!" Shiva cried in excitement. "You use quills? And parchment?"

Harry laughed. He liked her; she reminded him of a little kid, "Yeah, we do."

"That's _so_ medieval!" Shiva went back to examining odd things in the room, softly voicing her amazement. Tai turned to Harry.

"So? Have you thought about what I said?" he asked, referring to their encounter in Hogsmeade.

"I still find it hard to believe you live in a computer," Harry stated flatly. The very notion was ridiculous. Tai laughed in good humor.

"Well, it's not so much a computer than all the data of the worldwide computers collected and merged into a parallel dimension."

"Uh-huh..." Harry said disbelievingly.

"We live in a coliseum!" Shiva piped up from his left. He was about to tell her that such information would not help the credibility of the argument when he caught sight of what she was wearing. The girl was dwarfed in one of Dudley's old, oversized shirts and was clutching a mass of pants that we're held up by only her hands. He couldn't help it—he threw his head back and started laughing. She was wearing his clothes!

"Shiva!" Tai yelled at her. "What are you doing? Get out of those! And you—," he rounded on Harry, pointing a finger at him, "—don't encourage her! I'm trying to train her to be...well behaved!"

"Are these really yours?" Shiva giggled tugging at the jumbo shirt that draped down to her knees. Harry's laughing slowed to a stop. He suddenly felt heat rise to his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Erm… yeah. They're actually my cousin's. I don't own any muggle clothes of my own," He said hesitantly.

"Muggle?"

"Non-magic people," he replied easily. Shiva only nodded.

"So," Tai said, "will you ally yourself to the digital world? We're in a war and you're in a war; I think both sides can use all the help they can get."

He had a point. And it would be good to have some leverage in the war without Dumbledore or Voldemort knowing. But he wouldn't rush into anything, not this time.

"Please, please, please, please…" At least Tai was being professional about it.

"I still really don't see how I can be of much help," Harry argued.

"I can!" Shiva exclaimed loudly as she waddled to the bed.

"Shiva, take those damn things off!" Tai scowled at her. It was easy to see who the more responsible one was.

Shiva ignored Tai and, to Harry's immense embarrassment, plopped herself right in his lap. Harry was sure he could give Ron's hair a run for its money with how red his face must have been.

She grabbed his face with both her hands and seemed to stare right through him.

"You're going to be an extremely valuable ally after you kick Voldemort's ass. And before the war is over you will need our help." She blinked a few times, her eyes focusing on his own. "Hell—you need our help right now! Look at these clothes!"

Harry stood up alarmed, not caring if he sent the girl spiraling to the floor. He never mentioned Voldemort once, let alone his responsibility to 'kick his ass'. Where was she getting her information?

"Whoa, whoa, wait. How do you know about Voldemort? And what makes you think I'll kill him? What—I mean—are you a seer?" He finally demanded.

This was getting ridiculous. Just who were these people, really? Had he been too trusting?

"Yeah...how do you know that?" Tai asked guardedly. Harry looked at him. So...maybe he wasn't the only one lost here.

Shiva rubbed her butt and pulled herself up from the floor, shooting Harry an agitated look.

"Hello," she said waving her hands. "I'm Shiva...the _psychic_ demon! I've seen this. To answer your last question, no, I'm not a seer. And I never said you would _kill_ Voldemort."

"You're a psychic?" Harry asked. He really needed to read up on demons—especially if there were psychic ones. "And how is that different from a seer?"

"Well, I move things around with my mind—as in, I'm psychokinetic—and I get dreams of the future—," Shiva started before Harry interrupted her once more.

"Wait—dreams as in premonitions?" he did not need another Trelawney on his hands.

"Yeah, whatever they're called," Shiva waved an impatient hand. "I get them—don't always know what they mean, but they happen. And I can also skim people's minds if I want—just sensing and hearing things..."

She leaned in and leered at him. "Don't worry, this is the real deal, none of that shit Trelawney gives you."

"How did you...hey! Don't go through my head!" Harry fumed as he was avidly reminded of Snape.

"If you don't want people to go through your head, you gotta get some defenses up around it." Shiva sang, prancing around the room until she tripped on the legs of the giant pants and went crashing to the ground.

"Just give it up," Tai said to Harry when he opened his mouth to replay. "She's always going through mine. Annoys the hell out of me."

"Yeah, well I have stuff in there that shouldn't be known by just anybody." Harry replied huffily. What gave her the right to go through his head? Although she did have a point about him getting some defenses around his mind...whatever that meant. Maybe it was like Occlumency? He should probably ask her to teach him a few things about building these walls.

"Don't worry about that prophecy," Shiva said waving a dismissive hand from her place on the floor, "It's all gunna work out for you in the end."

Harry looked at her confused.

"I thought you said I don't kill Voldemort?"

"Where the hell did you learn all this shit?" Tai exclaimed. The poor guy didn't know what the hell was going on.

Shiva ignored Tai, "You don't. You can't. His soul is immortal after what he's done."

"Well then he's obviously going to kill me," Harry argued back, "Neither can live while the other survives… sound familiar since you went through my head? How is _that_ 'working out' for me?"

"He's not going to kill you." She said calmly.

"Ok, now she's freaking the hell out of me…" Tai mumbled to himself.

"So the war will never end," continued Harry.

"Yes it will. It won't last as long as the first, I can tell you that."

"Well then he must kill me!"

"He can't. No one can."

"I'm immortal?" Harry asked finding this very hard to believe.

"Not yet...?"

Harry stared hard at her. She seemed to know the outcome of the war but for some reason or another wouldn't tell him.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I don't understand," Tai moaned.

"I can't tell you that! It would ruin all the fun!"

"Shiva!" Harry finally yelled. He couldn't take this game any more.

"Alright, alright! I don't actually know how it ends. Some things I sense are clear, like the distinct lack of dying, while others are too foggy," Shiva groused with plain annoyance. "Jeez, you take all the mystery out of it when you make me explain."

"I hate you all," Tai pouted.

Harry countered with, "I hate life."

"Let's go shopping," Shiva said suddenly, completely forgetting about what they were just talking about. Tai and Harry blinked at the unexpected declaration.

"Come on!" She urged, heading for the door. She was really serious.

"Shiva, we didn't come here to shop." Tai stated crossing his arms.

"Come on. I want to play "dress up Harry". Worldly-saviors can't wear this stuff," she picked disdainfully at a moth-eaten shirt hanging off the dresser.

"I'd rather not." Harry deadpanned. _What_ was up with this chick?

"But I have a credit card and a master plan!" Shiva exclaimed getting a dreamy look on her face.

Neither Harry nor Tai moved to follow her.

"We're leaving now." Shiva growled sternly.

Stubbornly, no movement roused at her command.

"NOW!" she roared at them. Harry could have sworn he saw her eyes go black but didn't want to take the chance to look again. He just scurried down the stairs and out the door with Tai at his heels.

Just as the three of them stepped out the front door Harry remembered his guard.

"Wait a minute!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing both their arms and leading them back into the house. It may have looked comical to anyone on watch.

"What now?" Shiva asked impatiently. She seemed really desperate to buy him clothes.

"I don't know if Tai told you, but there are people out there—" Harry started.

"Oh, yeah. Yes, yes, he told me." Shiva said.

"Damn it," Tai ran a hand through his bangs in frustration, "I forgot about them."

Harry mentally swore at his guard for keeping him from having an afternoon of somewhat normalcy. He didn't feel like taking any of the Order's overprotective shit this year. He prepared to tell the other two to simply ignore the guard when Shiva spoke up.

"Boys, boys, boys. When will you learn?" She threw an arm around each of their shoulders. "Women have the solution to everything."

Without warning all three of their bodies dissolved into wisps of smoke, evaporating from the property of number four Privet Drive.

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o

A/N: Shiva and Tai are _**not**_ going to be central in this fic. They just help him out in the beginning and randomly pop up now and then later on. However, someone _else *coughInuyashacough*_ will be showing up later on who will have much more of an impact on Harry.


	4. A Most Cliché Makeover

**A Most Cliché Makeover**

Harry squeezed his eyes shut as he practically felt his molecules breaking down and rearranging themselves: a strangely painless sensation. When he felt solid again he opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of the local high school. Next to him were Shiva and Tai, the latter looking as lost and bewildered as he felt.

"What...the hell...was that?" Tai asked slowly.

'_Couldn't have put it better myself,'_ Harry thought.

"That, my delicious partner-in-crime, is called shadow walking. It's a natural form of transportation for space demons," Shiva said haughtily as she examined her fingernails. "You may praise me now."

"That was wicked, that's what it was," stated Harry excitably. He felt like a child as he literally bounced on the balls of his feet, but he didn't care. "That was like apparating—only better! You have _got_ to teach me that!"

Shiva laughed, "I'm not sure if would work for a human, but I'll see what I can do."

"Hold on," Tai interrupted. "How come I've never seen this happen before?"

Shiva grinned at him sheepishly.

"Well, for some reason, it doesn't work in the Digiworld. It only works in the real world."

Tai looked confused, "Huh? But that doesn't make sense..."

"I know, I know. But we really need to get shopping now. Harry, do you know any good stores? I can't actually shadow-walk to places I've never been before."

"Not around here, there might be some in London though," He answered.

"We don't have time for that," Tai argued. Harry grinned—now it was time for _his_ surprise.

"Then let me introduce you to the knight bus," he pulled his wand from his back pocket and smugly lifted it into the air.

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o

"That was awesome!" Tai exclaimed as they climbed off the knight bus. Harry grinned in agreement. Of course he might have been grinning because of the number of times Shiva banged her head on the window. He had yet to make the distinction.

"So now what?" Harry asked, looking at the only female of the group.

Shiva rubbed her sore head one last time before linking arms with both of her victims and dragging them down the London streets.

"Harry, I've got the perfect style picked out for you. It's all in my head."

"Merlin save me," Harry muttered. He did not want to be dressing in preppy clothes like his cousin used to...nor in a "gangster" style as Dudley did now. The very thought sickened him. So he was quite pleased when he found himself standing amidst racks and racks of simple, casual garments.

He wasn't as pleased with the load of clothes that soon piled in his arms, which continued to get heavier and heavier as Shiva and a male clerk (who openly announced his sexual preferences with a few well delivered innuendos to a panic stricken demi-god) tossed clothing at him.

"Alright! That's a good start. Try them on hunny buns!" Shiva said after she thought they had a sufficient start with the clothing.

"I'll say..." Rudolf, the clerk, murmured while staring avidly at Harry's 'buns'. Unfortunately Harry heard him and threw a scathing look over his shoulder as he marched towards the dressing rooms.

"I am such a goddess!" Harry could hear Shiva praising herself. He just about found himself agreeing with her as he slipped on a pair of faded denim jeans and a fitting, dusty red t-shirt. He never realized he could pull clothes off like this before. He had always feared that donning better fitting clothes would reveal his certain lack of broad shoulders and barely adequate height. But these, in fact, fit his lithe form well and proved he was not as gangly as the hand-me-downs made him appear. He nervously stepped out of the dressing room to seek Shiva's approval.

"Oh My! I haven't been this turned on since...well, since the guy with the ponytail walked in!" exclaimed Rudolf as his eyes roamed over Harry's body. Harry found himself distinctly uncomfortable.

"Turn around," Shiva commanded. Harry rolled his eyes but complied.

"Mmm, will you look at that butt in those pants?" Shiva mumbled.

"Baby, I couldn't agree more." Agreed Rudolf.

Harry quickly went back to facing them with a glare.

"Well," Shiva said in a professional manner, "try on the rest."

For the next hour, Shiva and Rudolf had made Harry try on and model dozens of clothing. They decided that dark or faded colors were more his thing and Harry had to agree. He didn't take to a specific style; he simply liked simple clothing—jeans, shirts, hoodies.

Tai got to spend most of the time napping in a chair outside the dressing room, much to the young wizard's envy.

In the end, Harry finished his wardrobe shopping with about 7 pairs of pants varying from black denim to faded jeans, several shirts in gray or dark colors, a couple of gym pants and muscle shirts ("'Cause I know you'll be training for Tim-Tim...right?" Shiva had said with a hard look), socks, boxers, a couple of belts, a pair of running shoes, a pair of black hiking boots, a leather jacket, a jean jacket, and a suede jacket. Shiva really liked jackets.

"Shiva, I'm not going to need all these damn clothes," Harry complained as he walked out of the fifth store they visited with several bags hanging from his arms

"Oh, hush. It's good to have variety. Now its time for the fun stuff!"

Harry and Tai shared a pained look before following the fascist.

0O0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"This," Tai began incredulously, eyeing the store they were in front of, "is the fun stuff?"

Harry glanced up at the CVS pharmacy store before them.

"No, you fool. This is for those condoms you promised Angela and Griff," Shiva said as if it were obvious. "And we might as well get some for ourselves while we're here."

"What?" Harry asked in alarm. They were getting condoms? He found himself being physically dragged by the arm by Shiva into the store. It took her all but three minutes to come back to the counter with an armful of condom boxes.

"Do you really need that many?" Harry asked warily as they were being rung up at the counter. How much sex could these people have?

"Of course! Some of these are for us for the next time I drop by," Shiva gave him a saucy wink before skipping out of the drug store, leaving Harry standing in her wake colored red. Some part of him hoped she was serious.

Scratch that—_many_ parts of him hoped she was serious.

When he made it outside the girl was already running down the street.

"You live with her?" Harry asked Tai. Tai just gave him a tired look that told him to shut up and started walking after her.

A few minutes later both boys found Shiva standing impatiently in front of a Tattoo and Piercing Parlor.

"Oh, Shiva...you cannot be serious," said Tai, but he had a smile on his face. Harry couldn't help but grin himself, thinking of Bill's cool earring. Then he thought of the beating he would receive from Hermione and Mrs. Weasely and his grin faltered.

"Come on Harold," Shiva laughed, pinching his cheek. "You already have the clothes of a Juvenile delinquent, you might as well look like one!"

"My name isn't Harold," Harry stated. "And they aren't that bad."

"Oh? What is it then? It can't really be just Harry, can it?"

Harry simply ginned mischievously at her before sliding through the door.

"Oh, that boy," he heard her growl before she and a laughing Tai followed him in.

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o

"Well, what should we get?" Tai asked the pair of them.

"I could get an earring for my ear..." Harry said, looking at a simple gold hoop.

"Get both ears pierced," Tai said, "I haven't been in the human world much but that's what guys are doing now. I'll get it done too."

"Oh really?" Harry asked. He wouldn't know much about men getting piercings since the only one he ever really saw was Bill's and he himself hadn't been in the muggle world for long.

"Yeah, and when you grow out of it, all you have to do is taken 'em out and they'll eventually close up," Shiva said. "I think I'll get a nose ring."

And that's what she got, in addition to her already triple pierced ears, as Harry and Tai both got both lobes pierced.

"Ya know... I think I want a nipple ring," Tai stated randomly. Harry started choking on air as Shiva squealed with delight.

"Oh my god, that would be so cool! Harry, get something else too."

Harry stared at her. He was already in enough shit from his imaginary Mrs. Weasely as it were...oh what the hell.

"Fine, how bout one of those thick rings on the upper part of my ear?"

"Now that's what I'm talking about! I'll get an eyebrow ring."

And so another round of piercing later, and Harry found he still wasn't satisfied. Something about the needle piercing his flesh made him feel bad—in a good way. It was as if he were crushing the whole image of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"I need more," He said to the guardians.

"More?" Tai asked, "Oh! Oh! Get a ring for your nipple! Like me!"

As if to prove his point he lifted up his shirt to expose the sore flesh with a new ring punctured through it.

"Ha, not my thing." Harry grinned. "But I think I'd like a tongue ring. Good for scaring people."

The man doing the piecing shook his head at Harry as though he were crazy but complied.

"You kids done yet?" The man asked after finishing up with Harry. "I got to go on my lunch break."

"No, no" Shiva stopped him. "We need tattoos now."

'_Die Boy-Who-Lived, die!'_ Harry thought savagely.

Shiva had gotten a tattoo on her right hipbone of an intricate design of a Celtic wheel ("I'm obsessed," she admitted) while Tai had a fierce, flaming phoenix tattoo (Harry described to him what a phoenix was) on his right arm ("Very mannish," Shiva said while wiggling her eyebrows).

As soon as his first tattoo, an Ankh on his left bicep, was completed, Harry demanded another one. The second one was designed after the Seal of Cagliostro, something he remembered seeing a few times in different books at Hogwarts. The tattoo was a snake in the shape of an S with a finely crafted arrow plunged diagonally through it (Tai later explained to him it was a sacred arrow—whatever the hell that was). It wasn't so much the design as the size of it that was shocking. The tattoo was placed on his back and stretched from just above his tailbone to the middle of his shoulder blades. Tai and Shiva's diagnosis on his needle problem had only been confirmed.

The three of them walked out of the store together, laughing at their new additions while the owner happily started on a tuna sandwich.

"Oh, damn!" Harry laughed, loving the feel of the metal through his tongue; "I cannot wait to see the look on Hermione's face when she sees this!"

His words may have sounded a bit more garbled to their ears due to the new obstical in his mouth.

"My dear boy, we are not finished with you yet!" Shiva giggled happily

"We're not?" Harry asked surprised.

"We're not?" Tai repeated wearily.

"No, we're not."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

After spicing up their bodies with tattoos and piercing, the three of them grabbed a quick lunch at a small pub. Then Shiva dragged the two young men to a little place to get Harry some new glasses. This was something Harry was all for.

His current ones still had bits of scotch-tape stuck to the nose brace from his youth.

When they arrived at the shop, small world that it is, the owner of the store happened to be a very good friend of a friend of Shiva and Tai's—(talk about connections)—a fox demon.

Disguised as a human, the demon was an attractive man about an inch shorter than Tai (making him 5'9-ish) and looked to be about thirty with short, reddish-brown hair. Shiva, ever the so easily excitable, literally launched herself at him, asking an array of questions on "Isha", their friend of the owner's, health.

The owner was more than happy to help out any friend of "Isha" and took the three of them in the back of the store where he had a lab set up. There he had Harry pick out whichever frame suited him the most. Harry decided on a pair of small rectangular frames and the demon took them into another room. Twenty minutes later he brought them back out. They were tinted yellow.

"Try them on," Shippo (as he had introduced himself earlier) urged. Cautiously, Harry placed the glasses on his face and gasped. The skin and muscle on everyone in the room vanished, leaving just the bones visible.

"What?" Shiva and Tai asked eagerly.

"I—I can see your skeletons!"

Shippo grinned, "Look at Shiva, and don't concentrate as hard."

Harry complied while Shiva gave Shippo a hard look. Harry found himself whistling as he observed the beauty in front of him.

"Black lace knickers Shiva? Don't tell me you wore those just for me!"

"ARRGH!" Shiva growled as she punched Harry in the chest, whipped around, and punched a laughing fox demon in the stomach. She didn't need to punch Tai; he had held his hands up in submission. Smart man.

"These are amazing!" Harry said happily. These glassed were as useful as Mad Eye's eye. Shiva crossed her arms and grumbled her disagreement.

"Oh, that's not all," Shippo said sounding very pleased with himself. "Concentrate on one of the bricks on the wall and picture it up close. Then think 'magnify'."

Harry did so and faintly noticed the glasses shimmer from yellow to blue. But most of his attention was focused elsewhere.

"Whoa!" Harry exclaimed.

"What now?" Tai asked in interest.

"They zoomed in on it! There's a lot of dirt on there..."

Shippo smiled at him, "These glasses have six features with a different color for each one. They are triggered by a mental thought. Complicated fox magic; I doubt you'll meet any other humans with them.

The first mode is normal—you literally just think in your head 'normal' and they'll appear clear. The next one is 'sun'; they'll turn into sunglasses. Then there is 'nocturnal' where they turn green, 'infrared' where they turn red, they turn yellow with the 'x-ray' feature, and with 'magnify' they turn blue."

"Good," Shiva muttered. "They're color coded so I know what you're doing."

"Oh Merlin," Harry said, plunking down in a chair. He was still trying to get used to the fact that there were demons walking around. Now he had one making him custom made glasses that would put Mad Eye's eye to shame. Shippo chuckled.

"A lot to take in, I know. You can change the intensity of each feature by varying levels of concentration. It may take a while to get used to so practice with them alright?"

Harry nodded dumbly before shaking his hand and thanking him profusely.

"How much will this cost?" Shiva asked.

"Just the regular price of glasses," Shippo said, ringing them up at the front of the store. He looked at Harry with a twinkle in his eye freakishly like Dumbledore's.

Harry opened his mouth to argue—these glasses had to be beyond expensive—but Shippo predicted the movement and held up a hand.

"This is a favor to a friend—they're more like training wheels, anyhow. Besides, I have a feeling I'll be owing you in the future," the vague statement left Harry blinking. Shippo turned his attention back to Shiva. "Make sure to say 'hi' to Inuyasha for me if you see him first. Though judging by his sudden interest in _this one_, he'll be visiting England soon."

He winked at them before attending to another pair of customers that just walked in.

Harry stumbled out of the store in shock, blinking at the outrageously bright light, until he realized he left the glasses on zoom.

'_Sun,'_ he thought and instantly everything tinted a shade darker and his eyes gained new protection from the sun.

"Alright last stop!" Shiva said happily, skipping into a hair salon.

"Thank god!" Tai praised before following her in.

Shiva and the hairdresser spent the better part of an hour excitedly deciding what to do with Harry's hair; they had some leeway due to the extra length harry had grown over the last couple weeks.

The final product made both girls sigh with happiness. His hair was still messy, but much more fashionably so. It was layered and flipped out from about the bottom of his ear to the nape of his neck. His bangs fell in his face, gently brushing the top of his cheekbones, and swept on one side a little just so that his scar was visible.

Shiva smacked his hand away every time he tried to cover it up.

"You are who you are," she would say. "Loud and proud, baby!"

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Another trip on the knight bus later and the three teenagers were standing in front of the secondary school in Surry.

"Potter, you're a real freak you know that?" Tai said, shaking his head at a very different young man than what they started out with that morning.

Harry just stuck out his tongue at Tai, tongue ring and all. In truth, with his hair and clothing, none of the piercings and tattoos were outwardly noticeable. Unless he opened his mouth wide enough.

"You do look pretty damn hot, you know that right?" Shiva asked rhetorically, leaning back and eyeing his butt in the dark blue jeans he was wearing. "A real bad ass."

"I'm not supposed to be a bad ass, you know," Harry grinned. "I'm supposed to be the misunderstood and brooding _t__ragic hero_."

Tai laughed.

"And what do you want to be?" he asked.

Harry pretended to think for a moment, "...a bad ass."

"Then that's what you shall be!" Tai grinned.

"Well, I think its time to get going, eh?" Shiva asked, wrapping her arms around Harry's shoulders from behind. The two of them disappeared in a swirl of smoky wisps—reconfiguring seconds later in his bedroom along with all the bags.

"I'm serious about you teaching me that," Harry said. Shiva giggled, and not her usual juvenile giggle—a girlish giggle that sounded almost odd coming from her. She stepped forward and began playing with the collar of his shirt.

"I **will** be visiting again," she said. She looked up into his eyes. He realized hers were green as well, only more of a honey green as opposed to his emerald ones.

"Good," Harry said, and he meant it. "I want to see what you really look like. I heard that you were part demon..."

"Did you now?" Shiva smirked, playing along.

"I did," He smiled. "From a very reliable source."

Shiva patted her hand against his chest.

"You know... I think you owe me a little pay back for all that money I spent on you today..."

Harry suddenly felt really guilty about all the money she spent on him and vowed to pay it all back.

"Um, I have lots of gold—" he started.

"Not that kind of pay back," Shiva interrupted. She leaned forward and quickly captured his lips with hers. Harry remained frozen in shock for a moment before deepening the kiss, pushing his tongue forward when she opened her mouth against his, hoping he was doing something right. Apparently he was because Shiva responded eagerly, meeting his tongue with her own. This was much better than what he shared with Cho. Less wet anyway. It was only a minute kiss, both of them slowly pulling away at the same time, but it was fun nonetheless.

"You know, I'm liking that tongue ring more and more," Shiva purred. Harry found his knees weakening. Shiva glanced at the clock on his desk and suddenly jumped away from him with a yelp.

"Ahhh! I've got to get back to Tai! He probably thinks I've raped you! And don't think I won't!" She said heatedly at Harry's disbelieving laugh. "I will return for the rest of my 'payment'."

"Tell Tai he's got himself an ally," He found himself saying softly.

"Whore," Shiva snickered at him before disappearing from Private Drive. It took Harry a moment to think about the circumstances in which he agreed to Tai's terms before he understood her accusation. He laughed.

"You move fast, don't you boy? You just met her today."

Harry whirled around to face the intruder, wand appearing in his hand in less than a second.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

There we go! All caught up! And now Harry has to deal with more surprise visitors.

Thanks for the reviews moo-heads!


	5. Inuyasha

**Inuyasha**

"W-who the hell are you?" Harry asked incredulously, backing pedaling until his calves hit his trunk. Just for once, couldn't someone give him a break?

The man in front of him raised his hands in peace.

He was tall and built, clad in a pair of loose, dark slacks and a white polo shirt. He could have been able to pass off as any young, attractive man with his chiseled features and admirable physic—if it weren't for a few complications.

For one thing the stranger's eyes were a warm amber with slitted pupils, pupils that instantly reminded Harry of Voldemort's. His hair was white-silver—a mass of unruly locks that curled every which way ending near the base of his neck. And just poking up out of his hair were two, triangular, furry dog-ears.

"Ok..._what_ are you?" Harry amended. "And how did you get in here? And lastly—do you work for Voldemort, Dumbledore, or the Ministry? Go on. Tell me the truth. I can handle it."

Numbness seeped over Harry as one strange occurrence overlapped another. He just spent an entire day shopping with a demigod and a half-demon that were guardians to a world molded from computer data. The prospect of another non-human visiting him out of nowhere was not unthinkable—he had a sneaking suspicion that this guy was a demon too. It might have been the dog-ears.

A detached response took over any otherwise defensive riposte, like he had hit the wall in respects to reacting to the paranormal.

"I knew I got the right one this time," he said more to himself. "As for your questions—My name is Inuyasha, I'm half dog-demon—" Harry simply accepted that with a grain of salt, "—I walked in here, and I do not work for humans. Satisfied?"

Inuyasha...that name sounded familiar...

"No," Harry found himself saying without realizing it. "I mean—I meant— Arrgh! Damn it! What is with all you demons? Where do you all come from? And why today?"

He didn't feel threatened; Shiva, Shippo and Tai left him feeling at ease around strange beings and this Inuyasha generated a calming aura. Yet feelings of exasperation began to build within Harry's chest cavity as the introduction into a new world happened too quickly. It was like finding out he was a wizard all over again.

Inuyasha just grinned at him, enjoying the game.

"Wait..." Harry continued, suddenly realizing something. "Do you know Tai? Or Shiva, or Shippo?"

"Yes, yes and yes," the grin flashed again. Whoa...this guy has fangs.

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright...not to be rude or anything, but what do you want?"

"Well, I'd like to kidnap you," came Inuyasha's blunt reply.

'_Well, there you have it,'_ Harry thought dully as he raised his wand again. And Shiva had spoken so highly of this guy.

"Sorry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll return you and everything," Inuyasha promised as if that would clear everything up. Harry stared at him but didn't lower his wand. Were all demons this psychotic? Sure, Shippo seemed relatively normal, but he was a _full_ demon. Maybe it was just half-demons? Like Shiva. Yeah, she was crazy too. Or perhaps it was Americans; Inuyasha had a similar accent to Shiva's.

Yet something in the back of his mind told him to trust this man...probably his instincts. Something he really needed to learn to listen to more. However, at the present moment, he wasn't about to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. No matter how much he wanted to scratch the ears.

Inuyasha, as though sensing Harry's reluctance, tried a different approach.

"I see you've put my book to good use," he said amiably, gesturing to the faint blood marks on the floor that Harry had tried to scrub off after a little experimenting.

"_Your_ book!" Harry gasped. "You sent me that book? Why?"

Inuyasha sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him. Hesitantly, Harry lowered himself down into the offered spot, making sure to face Inuyasha at all times.

"Do you believe Hell exists?" Inuyasha asked mildly.

Not understanding where this was going, Harry shrugged, "I guess. I mean, there's never been any proof that it has but..." he trailed, not really knowing what to say on the matter. He had never been very big on religion.

"No proof huh?" Inuyasha leaned in a little closer with a conspiring tone. "Where do you think dementors came from then, eh?"

Harry paled, "Dementors are from Hell? So it really does exist?"

"If it didn't I'd be out of a job."

Harry cast him a lost look.

"There are nine entrances to Hell. And I'm the guardian of the seventh gate."

Harry almost slid off the bed and his hand grappled to hold onto the comforter.

He was sitting next to the guardian of the seventh gate of Hell. A half dog-demon for that matter.

What. The. Hell.

"This is too much," Harry moaned to himself. He took another second to compose himself before asking, "And why would you, of all people, need to speak to me?"

For one horrific moment he thought that he was going to be dragged into hell.

"Well," Inuyasha began with genial patience, "I was hoping you could help us out with a little problem we're having. You see, a few years ago, the guardian of the ninth gate passed away. Now normally, to become a guardian one has to either kill the original guardian of the gate, or have it's guardianship passed on willingly. This wasn't the case this time. He died and left no one to defend the gate. That leaves no one to stop the demons from escaping that gateway...or humans from being sucked into it. At the moment, there are more demons prowling around Earth than there have been in almost 300 years."

"Is that so bad though? I mean, all the demons I've ever met have been pretty decent."

"So far, you mean," Inuyasha answered. "There was a time when demon mingled freely among humans, mostly in Japan anyway—I don't know what the case was for the rest of the world but by the time I got around there weren't many left. Most demons were on a constant power trip and fed off of humans.

"Many things have changed since then and, nowadays, for a demon to live in the mortal realm they must go through customs. A lot of paper work and shit," Inuyasha made a face at this. "And after that they will be monitored to make sure they are interacting with humans accordingly. You don't eat humans without explicit permission."

Harry remembered to close his mouth after a moment of trying to digest everything, "But...what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, with all the guardians busy with their own gates, and demons popping up all over the place, we need a little assistance—"

Harry did not like where this was going.

"—And after hearing about you, as well as hearing about a couple of your feats, I felt that you would be the perfect candidate!"

"For what?" Harry asked consciously.

"A demon hunter of course," Inuyasha said as if it were obvious.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o0o

And so it begins... bum bum bum

I know! I know! That took forever. We'll I have a perfectly rational explanation for that. Sims 2. It has devoured my soul. Lo siento!


	6. Cores

**Cores**

"A...demon hunter?" Harry echoed. "But why me?"

He began to feel consumed by his growing anxiety. He had enough responsibility as it were. Now he was being visited left and right by demons and the like.

Inuyasha squeezed Harry's shoulder, gave him a reassuring smile and spoke softy, "There aren't that many humans with the ability to kill demons, let alone use blood magic. In fact, you have no idea how rare you are."

"I don't get it," Harry moaned, barely hearing what Inuyasha was saying. He looked desolately at his hands. "Why me? What the hell do I have to do with everything?"

Harry felt the clawed hand on his shoulder tighten momentarily before Inuyasha looked at him warmly.

"You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age."

Harry lifted his head to look at Inuyasha and was suddenly hit with how much authority and wisdom were held in those glittering, cat-like eyes.. And there was pain, understanding and compassion that aligned with his own plights. He knew Inuyasha could relate to him without having to ask. Harry could feel the power radiating off him in waves—more power than Dumbledore possessed when he was angry. He found himself respecting the man sitting next to him more than he thought possible for such a short acquaintance.

"I do?" Harry asked, feeling a little proud to be comparable with someone so impressive.

The half demon smirked, looking very boyish and replied, "Well yeah—we both grew up in an environment surrounded by people who hate us, spent our lives trying to fit in with along with everyone's stereotypes, all the while fighting to protect the very same people who hurt us."

Harry felt his stomach swoop at the accuracy of the comparison. He never thought it could be possible to hear his life described in a nutshell. Well, there it was.

Harry let out a harsh laugh, "Well, you turned out all right, so I guess there's some hope for me."

Inuyasha shook his head, "Nah, I'm nuts. That's what living as long as I have does to you. Just look at Dumbledore, he's not even half my age and he's already lost it. Of course he _is_ a human."

"I've noticed," Harry grumbled bitterly. A pause overlapped them as Inuyasha quietly regarded him.

"Do you enjoy using blood magic?"

Harry felt a bit started by this question.

"Err... well yeah. A lot. That's not bad is it? I mean—I can't really help it. It just feels like—like—"

"A rush?" Inuyasha finished with a grin. Harry nodded his head vigorously, happy that he understood.

"I know what you mean," Inuyasha continued. "I was around your age when I realized my potential with it. It was just after I first sailed to Europe...and found that book in the castle known as Hogwarts. Heard of the creepy place?"

Harry shared a smile with Inuyasha for a moment. For someone who was older than Dumbledore—he was pretty cool. But something continued to bother him about using the book. It seemed so dark that it sometimes felt like he was becoming more like Voldemort. Like he would do anything for power. He decided to voice his concerns to Inuyasha.

"Harry, using blood magic does not make you evil," Inuyasha began to explain. "I use it, and I'm not evil—or I'd like to think so. Dark does not mean evil, and light does not mean good. Please remember that."

Harry looked back down at his hands dejectedly.

"Listen to me," Inuyasha grabbed the sides of Harry's jaw with one hand and forced him to meet his eyes. "Every human is born light: a light heart and a light soul. Every child is light. Even Voldemort was. It is through experiences and choices that turn a human dark, as they grow older. But the very core of every human, no matter how small it is, and no matter how evil his deeds are—will remain light. Voldemort cannot use blood magic, because the very core of his essence—that teeny, tiny core—is the speck of light within him.

"On the other hand, every demon is born dark; the exact opposite of humans. And like a human, depending on their upbringing, they can become light, but forever remain with that dark core. However, since most demons prefer to stay dark—not evil—but dark, whatever blood magic they try to use will become corrupt, and consume them. That is why there are so few individuals that can use blood magic; the few with just the right balance of light and darkness in them.

"Take me for example. I'm half demon. I have a dark core, but I was raised in a human society: I have a human heart and my soul is light. That is why I can use blood magic so efficiently. You also have this mixture as well. I believe, when Voldemort struck you with that curse as a baby, he poured part of his darkness in you, and it stuck to your core. A core will stop developing at two years at the latest. Your core was still developing so it didn't fight the change. You have a dark core, but your soul is light. _That_ is why you can use blood magic. And that is most likely your power against Voldemort."

Harry's head shot up.

"You know the prophecy?"

"I might have heard it somewhere..." Inuyasha answered evasively.

Harry sighed, simply accepting there were some things that were way over his head, "But Dumbledore said it was love that was my power."

"And in a way he was right. Think of the conditions you were raised in and compare it to Voldemort's. Look at how he turned out. Mix that with your dark core and you'd have the reason and potential to become the equivalent of a first class demon. But you didn't turn out like him. And do you know why?"

"Um...love?"

"Bingo. Your love for humans—muggle and wizard alike—has kept you from becoming bitter. It saved you from becoming like Voldemort. And if you don't mind me saying—your dark core saved you from becoming like Dumbledore. One self-righteous bastard is bad enough, no matter how well meaning."

Harry laughed fully at this, feeling lighter than he had in months.

"So I'm a human..." he concluded, "With a dark core?"

"Accept it. Love it. Have some ramen."

"Some what?"

"Never mind," Inuyasha said. "I'll get you some if you come with me quietly."

"Oh, so you've resorted to bribes have you?" Harry quirked—he had long since decided to go with Inuyasha, if not just to defy his minders but to learn more about blood magic.

"Sadly, you've left me no choice."

Harry smirked and asked, "How will being a demon hunter help me in the war though?"

"Is all you think about? What will help you in the war?'"

"Um...yes?"

"Good. Well, if you can kill a demon, I think you could kill a demon poser."

"But you're a demon aren't you? Why do you kill other demons?"

"I'm a half demon. There's a huge difference. Took me good couple centuries to figure that out too. I'll explain the rest later on."

Harry laughed, "Exactly how old are you?"

Inuyasha grinned cannily, "How old do I look?"

"I dunno...25?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "Close enough."

"Hey wait!" Harry cried, "That's not fair."

Inuyasha raised a dark eyebrow as if to say_ 'And I care…why?'_

"Fine" Harry pouted, crossing his arms, and feeling decidedly childish. "Then I won't go with you."

"Reverse blackmail isn't effective. Trust me, I've tried."

A large tawny owl chose that moment to dive in through Harry's open window, drop a letter on his lap, and leave without waiting for a reply. Glancing once at Inuyasha, who seemed faintly interested, Harry broke the seal on the letter and glazed over the contents. His jaw clenched in repressed fury as his eyes moved downward. After a deep, calming breath, he folded up the letter, and lifted his eyes to meet Inuyasha's.

"Kidnap away."

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	7. A New Occupation

**A New Occupation**

Inuyasha raised a knowing eyebrow, "What's with the sudden compliance?"

Harry, who still fought to keep his rage from blowing out the walls of his aunt's house, stiffly handed Inuyasha the letter. The older man looked over its contents with a small frown and gave a slight nod at the end of it.

_Dear Harry,_

_ Our parting at the end of the school year left you in rather low spirits and I apologize, but I do hope you will forgive an old man for his mistakes. You may not enjoy living at your aunt's house but it is for your best interest. In light of Voldemort's public outing and thus growing activity, I feel that you should remain there for the entire summer. The wards will protect you during these increasingly tremulous times, so you are not to the leave the property of number four. I also feel it would be best if you did not contact anyone as there have already been several owl interceptions since Voldemort's come to light. I have taken the liberty of confiscating your owl. This is for yours, and the Order's, own good Harry—letters are far too easily intercepted these days._

_ I do hope you are coping with the loss of your godfather, I cannot offer you enough condolences. I warn you now that he will not be the last. Please consider your actions more carefully in the future as your part in this war becomes more prominent._

_Respectfully,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards_

"Well," Inuyasha said, "He seems like a bit of a megalomaniac, don't you think? I mean...is it necessary to put in all these titles?"

Harry nodded and look towards Hedwig's empty cage, "I wondered where she was off to. I wrote a letter to the Order like they asked me to and she never came back."

Harry felt betrayed by the Order. He counted on them to protect him from his uncle in case he reacted badly to Moody's threat and they abandoned him. Without their support and without his friends, he was completely alone.

Or was he?

Harry looked up at Inuyasha who had just stood from his seat on the bed.

"So can I go with you?" Harry asked hopefully, hoping to his feet as well.

Inuyasha smiled warmly at him, "For now, yes. I'll just show you around where the gate is, but essentially you will live here." At Harry's pout he continued, "But we'll make it so you can enter and exit the premises easily enough."

"How?" Harry asked perplexed.

"The same way we'll do everything, Pinky. I'll explain later. First, I'd like to make clear a few things to your relatives."

It was only after Inuyasha strode out the door and down the stairs did Harry realize the reaction his relatives would have to a man with dog-ears on his head.

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Harry thundered down the stairs and stopped right outside the living room where, no doubt, his aunt and uncle would be watching the late afternoon news. Oddly enough, he couldn't hear any shouting. Maybe Inuyasha wasn't even in there...

Never mind—there was that distinct laugh.

Preparing himself for the worst, Harry entered the room.

Inside were his aunt and uncle with calm, yet slightly suspicious looks on their faces, and a man he almost didn't recognize. Almost. His hair had darkened to black and his eyes were now a strange shade of violet, but with normal, round pupils. The claws and fangs were gone and normal ears replaced his dog-ones. Inuyasha looked like a human.

"Well don't just stand in the doorway boy! Go fetch us some refreshments for our guest!" Petunia snapped at her nephew before turning her attention back to Inuyasha. She was giving him some sort of dreamy smile and—wait—did she just flutter her eyelashes at him? Oh, gross.

"Oh that won't be necessary, Mrs. Dursley. I need him here for the moment." Inuyasha replied with a charming smile.

"Please, call me Petunia," she giggled. Harry found this severely unnerving.

Vernon scowled at Inuyasha.

"I demand at once that you tell us what you are doing in our home, Mr. Nagasaki."

'_Nagasaki?'_ Harry thought._ 'Is that his last name?'_

Inuyasha smiled jovially at Harry's uncle, not intimidated in the least by him, "I would simply like to inform you on what will be going on with your nephew this summer."

Vernon, in the midst of casting Harry a glare as if to imply Inuyasha's presence were his fault, stiffened. His face began to turn into an all too familiar shade of puce.

"Boy—," he choked out. "What have you done to yourself?"

Harry realized that they hadn't seen him since he went shopping. He granted his uncle a sheepish smile.

"If you will please not interrupt me, I'd like to continue," Inuyasha stated coolly. "Thank you. I simply wanted to inform you that I will be borrowing Harry every now and then, so if he seems strangely absent for a while, you now know why."

"But why?" Vernon demanded. "Where will he be going?"

"That is something I cannot answer, but I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to any wizards."

"You're not a wizard?" Petunia asked in something akin to hope.

"No, I am not," Inuyasha replied placidly.

Harry admired Inuyasha's confidence. It was something that he would need if he were going to stand up to Dumbledore. Hopefully it would rub off on him if he hung around Inuyasha long enough. The adults of the room stood for Inuyasha's departure.

"Well, tubs," Inuyasha patted Vernon's stomach in a friendly gesture, all traces of shrewdness fleeing. "I'll be off now. Take care of the food-baby. Petunia," he lowered his voice to a murmur and kissed her on the hand. Harry's aunt blushed a brilliant shade of red before stuttering her farewell. Inuyasha and Harry exited the living room, leaving a seething Vernon Dursley in their wake.

"You—," Harry began at a complete loss for words, "you just hit on my aunt! _What is wrong with you?!"_

Inuyasha rounded the corner into his bedroom and laughed.

"I love how your family refers to you as 'boy'," Inuyasha jeered, ignoring Harry's earlier comment.

"Yeah well, we aren't exactly a close-nit family," Harry said bitterly.

Something about that remark triggered Inuyasha to burst out laughing and fondly throw an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Kid, we are more alike than you will ever know."

Harry grinned up at him.

"Why do you look like a human?" Harry finally asked the question that had been nagging him for the last ten minutes.

Inuyasha lifted a dark lock of hair and pulled it in front of his face to look at it, "It's a long story, but every half-demon will turn human for a period of time. For me it was the night of the new moon. When I turned one hundred I learned that I had the ability to change from either form at will. Quite a bit of a shock actually."

"You didn't know it would happen?"

"I didn't know a lot of things about myself. But no one really knew what happened to half-demons when they turned one hundred—not many half-breeds lived that long. Back then anyways."

Harry began thinking about Inuyasha's age again, "But...will Shiva have this ability when she turns a hundred instead of having to use the ring-illusion thing?"

"She should," Inuyasha contemplated.

"Will she still look as young as you?" Harry couldn't stop the questions from pouring out of his mouth. Fortunately, Inuyasha didn't seem to mind.

"Maybe. I'm a little different from half-demons though. Technically I should age slower than a human but faster than a demon. That is generally how it works for half-demons."

"But..." Harry prompted.

"But I age slower than full blooded demons. Have you noticed Shippo looks a little older than me?"

"Well, yeah..."

"I'm older than him by a good sixty years."

"Really?" Harry questioned in awe. "Why is that?"

"'Cause my parents got bus-aay before his."

"You know what I meant!"

Biting down a smile, Inuyasha pursed his lips together and looked at Harry decisively, "Partly because I'm a guardian for Hell, and guardians stop aging all together when they are in charge of a gate...kind of like we're frozen in time. But before that I still aged slower than normal—and I will explain _that_ some other time."

There was finality in his voice that told Harry he wouldn't be getting out any more answers.

"So how will we be getting in and out of this hell-hole?"

Inuyasha swiftly moved across the room and—using one arm—easily dragged Harry's bed away from the wall.

"Can you get me the book, please?" he asked.

Harry immediately knew what book he was talking about and dug it out from his trunk before handing it to Inuyasha. Inuyasha promptly flipped the book open to a page as if he had memorized all something-hundred of them and knew the content of each one. He knelt down before the area where the bed used to be, beckoning Harry to join him on the floor.

"Now, you see this?" Inuyasha pointed to the title of the page. Below it was a circular design of how the blood should be laid out.

"Portals?" Harry read the title.

"They're hard," Inuyasha explained. "And they require a lot of blood. Probably more than you're used to giving so I'll be helping you out."

For the next half hour, Harry and Inuyasha spent their time on the floor, making delicate slices in their skin to draw blood. Inuyasha was a great help to Harry. He pointed out things that Harry had been doing wrong when he was trying to self-teach and gave him tips on how to make certain rituals easier or quicker. Finally, after nearly an hour of analyzing and constructing the design, the portal was done. They both stood and admired their handy work.

"Not bad for a rookie," Inuyasha commented.

Harry grinned at him, "You did half of the work."

Inuyasha shrugged and moved the bed back to its original position, hiding the portal from view.

"Ready?" he asked Harry. Harry nodded, got down on the floor, and rolled under the bed. He placed two fingers on the gateway he was laying across and said, "**Peragro**."

Inuyasha saw a red light flash from under the bed before fading away and knew that Harry Potter was no longer on Privet Drive.

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Rock on.

Bad news: I won't be able to update for a couple of weeks because of exams and an operation I'm getting done.

Good news: After the operation I won't be able to do any activities for a month so lots of sitting on my ass and writing! Hopefully I'll get another chapter of Renaissance out during then. I haven't forgotten about it!

Thanx for reviewn'


	8. The Gate

**The Gate**

Harry picked himself up off the cold, stone floor and looked around. He currently stood in the middle of a spacious, underground room. Marble pillars all around him helped support the lofty ceiling a good fifty feet above his head. The walls were covered in artwork of what seemed to be famous battles between humans, demons, goblins, gods, and various other creatures. Time had left the art chipped and faded but not any less impressive. What was most noticeable stood against the wall opposite Harry. There, almost taking up the entire wall, were double stone doors just reaching thirty feet high. Harry was nearly positive that this was a gate to Hell. The very air surrounding the doors seemed ominous.

A short glowing red light drew his attention behind him and he saw Inuyasha just standing up and brushing off his shirt.

"So?" Inuyasha asked, spreading his arms out and gesturing to the Hall, "What do you think?"

"It's cool...really cool. But, um, where are we?" Harry asked.

Inuyasha shrugged, "Somewhere in India."

"WHAT?" Harry cried. "How the hell did we end up half way around the world? What do you mean India?"

Inuyasha chucked deeply and began walking towards the doors. Harry quickly followed him.

"All nine gates are spread far out around the world. Mine happens to be in Alaska. Not important right now. Anyway, this is what a gate looks like unguarded."

He gestured to the imposing doors they were now standing in front of.

"Um...does it change if it is guarded?"

"It's...more portable," Inuyasha answered awkwardly.

"...O...kay."

"Moving on," Inuyasha continued, "When there is a guardian in charge of a gate, and they choose to make it visible, it would be glowing."

He needlessly pointed out the doors again, "As you can see—these are not."

Harry craned his neck upward, noticing unfamiliar runes chiseled into the cracked stone.

"What do those mean?" he asked, pointing to the runes.

"I dunno," Inuyasha said casually. He noticed Harry's skeptical look, "Hey! I don't know everything! I'm still quite young you know!"

Harry continued give Inuyasha the same dry look.

"Look, all I know is that they have something to do with the old way to get the gates open. They aren't needed any more; I don't even pay attention to the ones on mine."

"What about the other guardians?" Harry asked suddenly.

"What about them?"

"Er, well, do you know them?"

Inuyasha blinked at Harry, "I've met them. I don't really pay attention to them though."

"Um, why...?"

Inuyasha looked around, as though making sure they were alone, and silently beckoned Harry to lean forward, "They're _old_."

Harry snorted and then laughed.

"I'm serious!" Inuyasha chuckled, "I mean the guardian of the first gate has got to be at least two thousand. They're just not much fun to talk to."

"Are they demons too?"

"Most are. There's a druid in there as well as a bunyip. But none of them have any human blood in them, which is why I think they don't like me much. Or it could be I'm just better looking than them."

Harry laughed again, "I thought demons were supposed to be ugly?"

"A lot of demons are. Mostly the lower class though. And middle schoolers. They're ugly too."

"Er...right," Harry replied. "So, um, just out of curiosity, what class are you?"

Inuyasha blinked for a moment, apparently unprepared for that question.

"I don't have a class I'm... special like that. But a dog demon—specifically one of my clan—is a first class. Maybe one day you'll meet my brother, he's a full demon."

"You have a brother?"

"Half brother," Inuyasha corrected, "He really hated me when we were younger. Gave me a lot of shit. I was disowned from the family when I was six, right after my mother died. Of course we get on better now. He's warmed up to me more after he took a human for a mate. I even got him to cut his hair once."

"Mate?" Harry asked. Demon's had some pretty strange customs.

Inuyasha grinned.

"Harry, kid..." Inuyasha slung an arm around his shoulder, "I think it's time we had...the talk."

Harry jumped away from Inuyasha as though burned.

"I don't need any talks!" he gasped quickly. Inuyasha threw his head back and laughed.

"Alright, alright...the real reason I brought you here, besides showing you the gate, was because I wanted to see what you can do so far."

Harry stared at Inuyasha.

"What do you mean?"

Inuyasha grabbed both Harry's shoulders and whirled him around. There, not twenty feel away from him, was what could only be described as a demon.

It crouched low to the ground, crawling on all four of its legs, although, by the length of its hind legs, it could have probably walked on two. The demon wasn't large, reaching about three feet high, but the dry, scaly, red skin, dripping stained fangs, and wide, yellow eyes were enough to send Harry stumbling backwards in shock.

"Inuyasha—!" Harry reeled around panicked only to find no one there. A low growl drew his attention back to the demon. Harry took a few calming breaths. Okay. He didn't have a wand. That was all right. He took on a basilisk with no wand. Of course he had a phoenix and a sword to help him out. Damn. What did he have now? He took another step back and felt something sharp poke his thigh.

Careful to keep his eye on the demon that was now starting to circle him, he slowly lowered his hand into his pocket and pulled out a shard of Sirius's mirror. He knew for a fact that he didn't put that in there, but before he could think on it the demon charged.

Harry dived to the side, rolling on his shoulder with the momentum before landing in a crouch. The demon landed in the ground, sliding a bit as it tried to run back at Harry with its fangs chomping on air. Harry let his instinct take over from there. He locked eyes with the demon, quickly slitting his palm with the glass. He twisted his fisted, bleeding hand quickly. The blood glowed and instantly formed a long whip. The demon leaped at Harry. A rush of anticipation flew through Harry's blood and into the very whip he drew back. With a predatory glint in his eye he whisked the whip forward, slicing through the demon as it fell with a final screech.

"Yes!"

Harry jumped around startled; the whip in his hand landed on the ground, revealing itself to be a few splotches of blood. Inuyasha had dropped out of nowhere.

"Are you insane?" Harry yelled. "You don't just send demons after people like that and then...and then abandon them!"

Inuyasha just grinned, completely ignoring Harry's ranting, and began looking Harry over.

"You didn't even get a scratch," he exclaimed happily. Despite Harry's anger at Inuyasha he couldn't keep the smile off his face. The adrenaline still coursed through his body. He wanted to do it again with no thought to the consequences.

"See? That was fun! Just wait until I get you trained up. You'll be able to take down demons bigger than the gate!"

Harry's eyes widened, "Really?"

"O yeah—but you'll have to work hard. No more of this scrawny thing you got going on," Inuyasha said, gesturing to Harry's lithe frame.

"Hey!" Harry said indignity. "I'm working on it! I run every morning now...and stuff."

"Good. Keep it up. I'll just add my own training to it."

Harry groaned, suddenly feeling weary of what could be in store for him. Inuyasha laughed at him.

"You know—before I even ran into that book I did blood magic?"

"You did?"

"Yep. It was called "blades of blood". You see what I did was coat my fingers in my own blood, I was usually already bleeding at the time for some reason or another, and I would swing my arm around in an arch, like this," he demonstrated. "And it would slice through what ever demon was after me at the time. Course I didn't realize what I was doing at the time..."

"Wicked! Can you teach me that?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Sure."

For the rest of the evening Inuyasha showed Harry different attacks and moves using blood magic. It was agreed that every morning, after his run, Harry would go to the gate to be trained by Inuyasha. They would work on blood magic, physical fighting, and every now and then Inuyasha would let Harry take care of a demon—each one bigger and stronger than the last.

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Yay. Sorry that took forever. I've been hobbling around everywhere.

Thanks for the reviews niños—keep 'em coming!


	9. A New Worship Ramen

**A New Worship (Ramen)**

Harry now spent the majority of his time in Inuyasha's presence. Every day started with a morning run before he grabbed some breakfast and took a roll under his bed. Harry often returned to the Dursleys just in time for dinner. His relatives, true to their word (and nature), didn't bat an eye at his frequent disappearances.

Inuyasha had taught Harry how to fight in ways he never dreamed of. The wizarding world frowned on most styles of muggle fighting—something about it being uncouth and primitive—which made learning all the more enjoyable for Harry. Call it sick, but from his memory, he found feeling Draco Malfoy's nose breaking under his fist so much more satisfying than casting a spell from several feet away.

"If you want to fight a demon, you have to become one," Inuyasha had said one evening after showing Harry how to properly snap someone's neck. It was swift, efficient and merciless, just like most techniques Inuyasha taught him. Little by little, Harry found the most obscure things changing about him. He was able to jump higher, move faster, hit harder. He could land from falls exceeding twenty feet and his reflexes improved to the point where he could draw blood and manipulate it before a demon could lift a claw. His senses improved as well, specifically his hearing and smell. Everyday Harry felt more powerful and began to carry himself with a poise he never knew he possessed.

Harry learned more than just hunting skills from Inuyasha. He learned to cope with the death of his godfather. Inuyasha had the most profound way of looking at life's every experience. He taught Harry to take the bad and the good and enjoy every moment he was alive, and as time passed on Harry found another adult to take on a parental role in his life. Inuyasha could never replace Sirius, but he sure as hell helped with the pain.

Harry also learned why Inuyasha seemed so universal and lighthearted about all matters. Many of their talks involved stories of Inuyasha's adventures throughout his long life. He spent over a year hunting down pieces of a powerful jewel and pursuing an evil, manipulative demon. Afterwards he hopped on a European ship and lived as a pirate for the next few years, traveling the world and picking up cultures. Inuyasha spent many centuries meeting new people, practicing different traditions, and fighting in wars (except for the few times he settled down).

That was when Harry learned about his 27 kids with six different wives. Instead of mating (and Inuyasha took much pleasure in explaining the basics of _that_ to Harry) he chose the more temporary human custom of marriage. At the moment he was divorced with two girls, Alaina who was 14 and Bridget who was 6.

Inuyasha set up a second portal at the ninth gate that led to his house, just incase Harry found himself kicked out or something of the like and needed a place to stay. This led to Harry experiencing his first lunch at Inuyasha's house.

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"Why the hell do you live in America?" Harry asked as they walked through the front door. Harry had been a bit surprised by how normal Inuyasha's house looked—a simple three-story house with a two-car garage in a friendly looking neighborhood. Harry had figured that someone of Inuyasha's class and power would be living large. When Harry voiced this to Inuyasha he responded that it was too much of a bitch to keep a big house clean.

"Um," Inuyasha said in a dopey voice, "Because I'm American...?"

Harry scrunched up his face, "I thought you said you were born in Japan?"

"I also said I left as soon as I realized I could," Inuyasha replied while raising an amused eyebrow. "And I fought in the revolutionary war so I'd say that makes me pretty American."

Harry opened his mouth and held it in an 'O' shape.

"You want some lunch?" Inuyasha asked, opening a cupboard. Harry sat down at the mahogany kitchen table.

"Sure."

Three minutes later, Inuyasha handed Harry a steaming styrofoam cup. Harry sniffed it delicately and a warm, salty aroma filled his senses. He glanced over at Inuyasha to see the half-demon already halfway finished with his own lunch. Harry lifted a spoonful of noodles into his mouth.

He was hooked for life.

"Oh mm fughin gah," he garbled as he chewed on the soft noodles and slurped up the salty broth.

"mmhmm," Inuyasha agreed.

"Hey padre, who's that?" a voice from the kitchen door asked. Harry turned in his seat, his cheeks puffing with ramen. The girl, most likely Inuyasha's fourteen-year-old daughter, rolled her eyes as she walked into the kitchen to make herself some ramen as well. She stood a bit on the petite side with attractive, delicate features. Her long blond hair fell to her mid back and had the same amber eyes Inuyasha had except with rounded pupils—probably the only feature she shared with him.

Inuyasha swallowed the last of his ramen, "He's an asshole. Stay away from him."

Harry made an angry face at his teacher, which lost much of its intimidation factor with a mouth full of noodles.

She rolled her eyes and held out a hand to Harry, "Hey, I'm Alaina—the esteemed daughter of this ass."

Harry swallowed and laughed and took her hand, "I'm Harry."

"Oooh," she cooed looking at her father. "A British boy."

"Hmm, you're staying with your mother this weekend, so you better be packed by tonight," Inuyasha said carelessly as Alaina sat down.

"Daaaad," she whined. "Do I have to?"

"Yeees," Inuyasha responded in the same whiny attitude.

"But she's such a bitch," Alaina said exasperated.

"Hence the divorce."

"What the hell possessed you to marry her in the first place?"

"Hey," Inuyasha pointed a finger at her. "Watch it. I'll disown your ass...don't think I won't."

She gave him the finger. Inuyasha stuck out his tongue. Then came the crossed eyes and it was a full out 'face off'. Harry watched in sheer amazement as the two of them made the most bizarre faces and gestures at each other. He couldn't imagine Mr. Weasley ever using such language when talking to his kids or allowing them to speak to him that way.

Smiling on the outside, Harry wondered if his dad would have been as cool as Inuyasha.

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Thanks for the reviews, you guys are great! Harry's birthday is coming up in a couple of chapters and we'll see the reactions of his friends to his new look and attitude. Keep on readn'!


	10. The First Client

**The First Client**

Shrugging on a simple black t-shirt and a pair of dark-washed jeans, Harry bounded down the steps and into the kitchen where is aunt already began serving breakfast. Vernon shook the paper straight and tried his hardest to ignore Harry's presence while Dudley eyed him wearily. Harry sat down at the table and tried to look as innocent as possible. After he finished his meal he cleared his plate, ready to skive off to his room, when his aunt called out his name.

"Harry—" Petunia started. Harry jumped at being addressed by his first name in the house. Then he realized it probably had a great deal to do with the Order's threats than any change of heart on his relative's part. "I was hoping you could run to the store to pick up some groceries for me."

There was no question in her voice; this was an order. Nonplussed, Harry played along.

"Umm, sure," Harry replied, taking the list and money from her. The demons could wait an hour or so.

Harry slipped on his shoes and left the house. He could tell there was an Order member following him and judging by the heavy, even foot steps his guess would be Kingsly. Harry rolled his eyes and continued to ignore him as well as the numerous stares and whispers heard from every piece of property he passed. He had half a mind to whip out a pocketknife just to see how many people screamed.

The shopping trip passed fairly quickly and at the last minute Harry slipped in a pack of ramen noodles. A man needs his ramen. His aunt wouldn't notice a little extra money missing. As he waited for his purchases to be rung up, he noticed the cashier giving him funny looks.

"Um, are you Harry Potter?" She asked slowly as she handed him his bags. She looked vaguely familiar to Harry. She was of medium height with sandy blonde hair in a ponytail and dark blue eyes.

"Yup," he said, fully intent on ignoring her and turning to leave. He held suspicion of anyone who talked to him in this town—especially since they all thought he was a criminal.

"I'm Rachel Ackerman," she said hurriedly. "We went to primary school together, remember?"

Harry got a fleeting glimpse of a snooty, blonde haired, blue-eyed girl laughing at him after Dudley poured a bottle of glue on his head. And then several more recollections, non showing Rachel in a favorable light.

"Yeah," he said shortly and turned to leave again.

"Wait," she cried, causing him to turn and look at her impatiently. "Um, what have you been up to? I mean, do you hang out anywhere or anything? I haven't seen you around."

"I've been busy," he replied coolly, "Is there a point to this conversation because I have other things to do and you have customers to attend to."

Rachel blushed deeply and shuffled her feet a bit, "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime."

"With the 'criminal boy'?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Are you really a criminal?" she asked. She seemed excited by the prospect.

"Do I look like a criminal?" he responded, and then inwardly winced. Of course he did after all those piercing and the dark choice of clothes this morning. "Nevermind. I got to go. Bye."

"Oh, er, see you later!" she called hopefully at his back. Harry just lifted a hand and waved it without turning around. Harry stepped out side and let out a breath of air he didn't know he had been holding in. Girls were not his area of expertise, especially one's that were bitches to him since childhood.

Although she was rather good looking...

Harry halted his walking. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and a foul stink carried in the undercurrent of the wind. There was a demon nearby.

Harry casually walked away from grocery store, looking for a good place to hide from the eyes of Surrey residents. As he walked along the cracked sidewalk he noticed only one pair of foot steps—his. Strangely, no Order member followed him. This made things considerably easier.

He let a tuneless whistle blow through his lips and abruptly made a ninety-degree turn into an alleyway between a dentist building and a bank. He placed his bags on the ground and walked a bit further down so that the darkness could better conceal him.

"Alright, I know you're there, you can attack me now," Harry said, unruffled, as he leaned against the brick wall.

And it did, for no demon in its right mind would pass up such a request from a human. Unless, of course, that human happened to be a demon hunter.

The beast flew down from the top of the building with a loud screech. The large black wings and sharp beak were a dead giveaway that it was a bird demon. It set its abnormally large talons ahead of it as it swooped down in anticipation of grabbing Harry for an afternoon snack. Harry had made no such plans for the day.

Smirking, Harry engaged his conditioned core and quad muscles to jump to the side, reaching a good five feet in the air, and quickly kicked his leg behind him. His foot crashed into the demon's head and sent it sprawling across the thin strip of ground between the buildings. Recovering immediately, the demon shook its feathered head and picked itself up off the ground.

Harry flicked a dagger he kept strapped to his wrist into his hand. In one fluid motion he drew the dagger down the length of his index finger and swiped in across the middle of a trashcan lid. The lid instantly snapped in half. He picked up one of the pieces just as the demon spread its wings for another attack. Before the demon could so much as snap its beak at him Harry had launched the lid at it like a Frisbee. The sharp, freshly cut edge of the bin lid shot through the air and successfully beheaded the demon.

The head rolled away from the body until Harry's booted foot stopped it.

"Too easy," Harry tisked. He coated his index and middle finger in blood and waved them in the air in a complex design. The blood stayed suspended in the air as if he were drawing on glass, leaving the sketch visible. When finished, Harry pressed his palm against the seal and muttered, "Attero"

The body of the demon burst into flames, which quickly became a pile of ashes. Clapping off his hands and brushing off his clothes, Harry picked up the grocery bags and strode back onto the sidewalk, whistling the same tuneless whistle.

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Very. Very. Short. Lo Siento.


	11. India

**India**

"What happened to your hand?" Harry's aunt asked when he lowered the bags onto the kitchen counter. Harry looked down at his bloodstained palm for a moment before schooling an innocent expression on his face.

"I tripped," he said offhandedly.

His aunt pursed her lips and sniffed, "Well get that cleaned up. And you better not have broken the eggs."

Harry rolled his eyes and started up the stairs.

"Like you were concerned in the first place, cow," he muttered. After washing off his hands he went to go see Inuyasha at the gate.

"Take your damn time why don't ya?" Inuyasha griped when Harry arrived.

"Hey! I'll have you know I've been buying ramen and fighting demons," Harry retorted indignantly.

Inuyasha's ears reflexively perked at the mention of ramen, "Well, that's alright then."

Harry sighed tiredly and put a cigarette in his mouth, before taking out his zippo and lighting it. Not three hours after he got back to the Dursley's he went straight to Dudley's bedroom and nicked some. He'd seen older students sneak up to the Astronomy tower, or wander off during Hogsmead trips, for a quick smoke but hadn't understood the appeal in it. He heard nicotine was a relaxant, that it could be considered therapeutic; but he found the smell that would cling to his clothes or the damage it could do to his lungs to be a turn off.

Now he understood. It wasn't to look cool, as he was careful not to let Order members of his relatives see him. Instead he found that with every drag he could feel a bit of his stress flow out of him and his head would clear.

While doing much better with coping with his problems since he met Inuyasha, Harry still found a fag every now and then could help him relax.

"Well this looks like a charming habit," came a dry voice to his left. Harry blow smoke through his lips and grinned sheepishly.

"Do you mind?"

Inuyasha smiled and shook his head, "Somehow, I don't think it will be smoking that will kill you."

Harry laughed.

"Well I'm glad to see you're confident in my abilities. Er, you don't think this will affect my stamina or anything?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"Nah," Inuyasha said waving it off. "In fact it shouldn't even make a spot on your lungs."

"Really?" Harry asked perplexed.

"Mmmhmm. Think about it—a child who goes for days locked in a cupboard with no food would be much more severely malnourished than you appear to be."

Harry didn't see where this was going and asked a bit defensively, "What? You think I lied about that?"

"Not at all, I'm saying your magic sustained your body," at Harry's blank look he continued. "Your body unknowingly conjured nutrients for you to survive and remain relatively healthy—at the bare minimum, at least."

"And you think it would do the same with my lungs if I smoked?"

"Right on."

"Oh...Do you smoke?"

"Not so much anymore—I'm an old man."

Harry snorted. He doubted if Inuyasha would ever be an old man.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I got something for you," Inuyasha walked over to Harry and handed him a small, silver object.

"A cell phone?" Harry asked, looked at him questionably.

"That's what they're called," Inuyasha said cheerfully. "You found a demon around your neighborhood didn't you?"

"Um, yeah...How did you...?"

"Well you'll be seeing much more of that. Once you start sensing them it never stops. In fact you'll start seeing them everywhere. It will be up to you to decide whether they're hostile or not."

Harry nodded, "And the cell phone is for..."

"So I can let you know of any demons that need to be taken care of or to call me if anything happens. My number is in there, so is Tai and Shiva's, and so is my daughter's," Inuyasha gave him a scrutinizing look. "She _insisted_."

Harry threw up his hands, "I swear I have nothing to do with that."

"Mmmhmm," Inuyasha smirked, "Anyway, the most important feature...it makes videos!"

"Videos?" Harry repeated, looking at Inuyasha as though he was mad. "And this will help me...how?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "I dunno. I just think it's cool."

Harry nodded in agreement. It was cool.

"Up for a little fresh air?" Inuyasha suggested.

Harry grinned. Just as he promised himself, he was getting a tan. He wasn't about to pass up a chance while being in India was he? On many occasions he and Inuyasha went up a long set of stairs hidden behind a fake wall. One could pass through it much like the gate at platform nine and three-quarters. Of course, knowing Inuyasha they had to walk up the stairs the "fun way"—meaning Harry had to jump as many steps as possible. All the way up the 400-step spiral stone staircase. Wonderful.

He soon forgot about any pain involved when he reached the warm outdoors. India was truly beautiful—or at least the part above his gate was. A long range of white, rock-strewn mountains could be seen in the distance and grassy fields and limber trees surrounded the area. A small village stood in the west with many skillfully carved palaces and temples in golden-yellow sandstone.

Among all the work and fighting he did that summer, Harry had the time of his life. He liked to spend time playing games with some of the kids his age, swimming in the river, and fruitlessly trying to flirt with the girls. He even rode a camel once. It was brief and it didn't end well for his back, but Inuyasha got a kick out of it.

The locals were nice enough as well—even if they didn't seem to speak a word of English (that was part of what made the flirting so hard). But that didn't prove to be a problem. Harry was quite impressed to find that Inuyasha could speak fluent Hindi. In fact, he could speak many languages. Surprise, surprise.

"Run to that tree," Inuyasha ordered out of nowhere. He pointed to a bare-leaved white-barked tree approximately two-hundred meters away from them.

"Are you going to time me?" Harry asked. He knew he was fast, but compared to most demons he'd have to be inhumanly fast, which was why Inuyasha often emphasized on speed.

"Yep."

Without any further prompting, Harry shot off. Wind rushed by his face as his feet altered in pushing the ground behind him. Before he knew it the tree was nearly within reach.

Something broke through the ground right between him and his target.

"What the—shit!"

Springing up from his next planned step, Harry just narrowly avoided having his leg cut in half by a scythe-like protrusion swung by the unburied demon.

While still in the air from the high jump, Harry bit his thumb hard enough to break the skin and then snapped his fingers. A blood-whip waved out from between the point of contact of his fingers and he brandished it forward just as he landed. The whip wrapped around the second scythe-like arm of the demon, which had been in motion for a second attack.

Harry yanked hard, uprooting the demon that appeared to resemble an enormous, leathery mantis. His small victory was short-lived as the demon focused its energy in violently dispersing the whip with an ear-splitting screech. Once freed, the demon smoothly transitioned onto offense and swung another appendage at Harry, this time radiating the same energy it used to dispel his last attack—youki.

Harry had already cut a shallow incision across each palm.

"Shield," he barked, swinging his left arm around before him and holding his palm out. The demon's attack was only delayed for a second before the shield shattered, meaning it could power its youki to counteract Harry's fresh understanding of blood magic.

Luckily, Harry had been able to recognize this as a second-class demon and dropped to the ground immediately, throwing his right arm forward next.

"**Orbis telum!"**

The plasma coating his hand lengthened into a translucent, cone-shaped oddity, the spear-like tip of which shot forward with blinding speed and impaled the demon on the underside of its belly.

Knowing better than to relax, Harry used his left hand to send forth a sickle-shaped projectile that lopped off the demon's head.

"**Falcis! Attero!**"

The two-piece body shriveled into embers after a brief flame. The light, Indian breeze took care of the rest of the evidence.

Huffing, more so from shock than exhaustion, Harry turned to see Inuyasha laughing uproariously.

"That wasn't funny, asshole."

Dying down to a chuckle, Inuyasha brushed some hair out of his face and straightened his posture.

"Yes it was," he countered. "What does Pop-Eye say again? Constant Vigilance?"

Harry chucked his new cell phone at him. He probably should have seen the demon coming; it wasn't like Inuyasha randomly throwing demons at him was anything new. But somehow the man always managed to catch him off guard.

With his new, intense schedule over the month, Harry had forgotten about his impending birthday.

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Even MOAR shortness.


	12. Birthday I

**Birthday I**

Kingsley Shacklebolt strode through the gloomy halls of number twelve Grimmuald Place and into the kitchen to find his fellow Order members, Nymphadora Tonks and Hestia Jones, chatting idly at the table. Tonks looked up at his entrance.

"Wotcher Shack!" she greeted with her usual gusto before skepticism overtook her features. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be watching Harry?"

"Dung took over for me," he replied easily, grabbing a chair and joining the girls.

"Dung?" Hestia repeated with a dry look. "As in the guy to who left him for a cauldron deal last year?"

Tonks said, "Well it doesn't really matter much does it? I mean, he hasn't been out of his house for practically the whole summer!"

"Yeah, the last time any one saw him was over a month ago," Hesita agreed.

"He's probably still grieving over Sirius," Tonks commented sadly.

"Poor guy," Hestia sympathized.

"That's right, you two aren't on morning duty," Kingsley hummed to himself. "He goes for a run every morning, and he seems to be doing fine. Much healthier looking than we're used to seeing."

"Really?" Tonks perked up, sharing a shocked look with Hestia.

"Yeah. In fact, I doubt you'd recognize him these days," Kingsley answered with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

Kingsley laughed, "This morning he went to the market and looked like he jumped out of a correctional facility with all the piercings and dark clothes."

"My kind of guy," Tonks giggled and Hestia laughed. "When is he coming back to Headquarters?"

"On his birthday. Albus said the Weasleys and the Granger girl can come over here for a birthday party for him, but the next day he goes back to the Dursleys," Kinsley said.

Hestia and Tonks nodded. After all, what Dumbledore says, goes.

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"Happy Birthday!"

Someone much heavier than Harry jumped on him, successfully knocking the wind from his chest as well as waking him.

"Inuyasha!" Harry yelled, trying to hit his assaulter with his pillow. "My birthday is tomorrow you idiot!"

Inuyasha laughed and got off the bed.

"Come on, come on! Up!" he cried, tugging Harry out of his bed by his arm. Harry grunted as he landed hard on the floor. His bum smarted.

Inuyasha wasted no time in grabbing Harry's already abused arm and pulling him toward his dresser.

"Inuyasha!" Harry cried again as he was dragged across his bedroom floor by one appendage. His legs were tangled in the covers of his bed so they were dragged along as well. "You'll wake the Dursleys!"

Inuyasha kept laughing as he carelessly dropped Harry's arm on the floor, leaving the boy sprawled, indecently in a mess of sheets.

"Well get dressed, I have presents for you."

Harry yawned sleepily from his spot on the floor, "Why?"

Simply shaking his head, Inuyasha dived under Harry's bed.

"Just get moving," he called from under it. A red light flashed just before his bedroom door opened with a bang.

"BOY! What the devil are playing at?" his uncle roared, spit flying. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed himself with his mussed graying hair sticking out at all ends and his worn bathrobe sloppily thrown on. Harry blinked owlishly at him while sitting in the middle of his bedroom floor surrounded by blankets in nothing but his boxers. His cute little snitch boxers.

"Whuah...?" he managed, unable to fully get his mind in order after such an abrupt awakening. It was possibly the most intelligent thing ever spoken under that roof.

His uncle just shook his well-padded head disbelievingly and closed the door, all the while muttering about nutjobs and useless, financial burdens.

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"Inuyasha?" Harry called. His voice ricocheted around the walls of the Hall of the ninth gate. "Oi! Dog-man!"

Harry received a sharp smack to the back of his head. He turned around to face an impassive Inuyasha.

"Oh there you are," Harry said cheerfully, hardly responding to the cranial abuse. Inuyasha stepped back and grinned.

"Pick a hand," he said with both hands behind his back. Harry stared hard before pointing at his left.

"Alright pick the other hand too 'cause they go together," Inuyasha said.

Harry chuckled and pointed to the right as well. Inuyasha brought his hands around to the front and presented two desert eagle pistols.

"No bloody way," Harry murmured, taking them from his hands. He had a gun. Two guns. He only wished he watched more TV so he would have some idea of how to use them.

"Yes bloody way," Inuyasha replied. "They can come in damn good handy with some demons. Sometimes, mechanicals the best way to go."

"Oh wow Inuyasha" Harry breathed in awe. He loved the way they fit in his hands, their weight and temperature already distinctive. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it," Inuyasha waved him off. "I give you some tutorials on how to use them. And since it's your birthday tomorrow...no training today!"

"Fine by me," Harry beamed. "Though I don't know why you're so insistent on celebrating _today_."

"Come on," Inuyasha exclaimed, ignoring the not-so-subtle prompt. "We're going to my house."

Harry swore the man never ran out of energy as he was violently shoved towards the other portal.

When they arrived at Inuyasha's house, the first thing Harry noticed was loud, booming music trailing from the back yard mixed with some splashes, screams and laughs.

Harry turned to Inuyasha with a crooked smile, "What is going on...?"

Inuyasha said nothing, instead running around to the back of the house. Harry shook his head, smiling at the half-demon's antics before following him. The second he rounded the corner of the house he was blasted by a huge spurt of water.

Harry gasped and hastily wiped water out of his eyes, pushing his glasses up. Regaining his vision, he looked up to find Inuyasha grinning like a maniac, soaked to the bone, and holding a hose.

"Why you—!"

"Harry!" Harry stopped his sentence as Alaina called to him. She was standing on the diving board of their pool, wearing a violet bikini, and waving him over. One of the things he absolutely loved about Inuyasha's home was the pool. It looked like something out of a magazine with one side lined with large (fake) rocks and plants. A tiny built in waterfall gently rolled a constant flow of water down several of the stones and into the pool, giving it a very exotic look. To add to the image, a circular hot tub was connected to it as well. At the moment, the pool was filled with teenagers, most likely populace from the neighborhood.

"You live for now," Harry growled playfully at Inuyasha before striding over to the blonde girl dancing around impatiently on the diving board.

"Happy Early Birthday!" she cried, jumping off the diving board and right onto him in a hug. Harry gave a strangled laugh as he looked worriedly over to where he knew Inuyasha was watching. Luckily, Inuyasha looked to be a bit preoccupied by someone whose car was in the neighbor's flowerbed.

"Way to park like an asshole, Kouga!" Inuyasha yelled across the street.

"Let's go inside and get you a swimming suit," Alaina said excitedly, drawing back his attention. "I was having some friends over today and when I heard it was your birthday tomorrow I decided that you should come too!"

"Erm, thanks..." Harry said uncertainly as she led him upstairs. They entered what looked like the master bedroom and Alaina handed him a pair of swimming trunks.

"These should fit you. They belong to one of my brothers."

"You have brothers?" Harry asked, suddenly nervous that the pretty girl was just hanging onto him a moment ago.

"Well, different mothers of course. I'm sure you've heard all about it. Anyway, put these on and come back down to the pool and I'll introduce you to some of my friends."

After she left Harry tried on the blue shorts, which happened to be a pretty nice fit for a visual guess, and looked in the mirror. After over a month of hunting demons and Inuyasha's strange but effective methods of exercising, Harry's body began to show the effects. His biceps bulged more than he ever thought possible, the veins in his arms more prominent and, if anything, thicker. His chest began to bulk up and a six-pack was just starting to pronounce over the last month. The shorts revealed the strong quads and calf muscles that were also developing. Harry smiled and stuck his tongue out at his reflection, reveling in the barbell that popped out with it. He may have had a long way to go if he every wanted to be anything like Inuyasha, but seeing results did help to boost one's ego.

When Harry passed through the kitchen he saw Inuyasha speaking to a man in a business suit with short black hair. Harry could tell this man was a demon, not only from his demonic aura that he had been honed to sense, but also from the pointed ears and slitted, electric blue eyes.

"Oh hey Potter," Inuyasha said, giving him a chary look. "I'll be watching you through that window. So don't try anything. Oh yeah, this is Kouga, the shithead who can't drive."

"Fuck you, mutt face," the man replied, but there was a smile on his face.

"Oh, um, hey," he said, turning to go outside, but was stopped when a pair of small arms wrapped around his legs.

"Haaarry," a childish voice whirred. Harry smiled and looked down into a pair of big amber eyes. It was Bridget, Inuyasha's youngest child. She was an adorable little girl with plump cheeks and short, curly black locks.

"Hey Bridget, can let me go please? I need to go outside."

"Ummm...no!" She started laughing merrily and hugged his legs tighter.

"If it's not one, it's the other," Inuyasha muttered, detaching Bridget from Harry's legs and picking her up.

"Daddy," she said sternly. "Don't be foolish."

"I'll try not to," he said earnestly. Bridget, forgetting to be mad at her father for taking her away from Harry, cooed and began to stroke his ears. He leaned toward Harry and muttered, "Run...now."

Harry laughed and did exactly that.

"Man, Harry, what took you so long?" Alaina asked as she pulled herself out of the pool. Harry forcibly pulled his eyes away from the revealing bikini that left too much dripping, wet skin visible. This led his eyes to stray to another pair of legs or low-cut bathing suit on one of the surrounding girls enjoying the party.

"Your sister," he rushed out, meeting her eyes.

"Ah," Alaina said, understanding. "She tends to be a bit possessive."

"Yeah. Good thing she's cute enough for it not to be creepy."

Alaina laughed. "For now. Give it a few years."

Harry spent the rest of the day swimming at the Nagasaki's, having chicken fights and playing marco polo. He met a lot of Alaina's friends and got on with them well. Later on Inuyasha and Kouga, both looking like humans once more, joined in on the fun and began chasing down the kids and dunking them. Unfortunately, Harry still wasn't a very good swimmer and was dunked several times.

"How did you ever get through the second task?" Inuyasha asked lightheartedly after the fourth time he caught up to Harry.

"Dogpaddle," Harry said cheekily before spitting water out in Inuyasha's face.

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0o0o0o

Harry returned to the Dursleys late that night. The only evidence of his day his was slightly damn hair.

"Hey birthday boy," a sultry voice said behind him. Harry didn't have to turn around to know who it was. She had been climb through his window once every week or so.

"Hey Shiva—my birthday isn't for another hour."

He turned to face her only to be assaulted by her lips.

Shiva held true on her word of receiving her payment for buying him all his clothes. Being the hormonally charged teenaged boy he was, Harry had not problem with this—aside from the part where he was an inexperienced, hormonally charged teenaged boy.

This only merely enthused Shiva.

"_I'm training you for future exploits," _she would often tell him. _"Your women will thank me."_

Harry ended up doing just about everything he thought possible with a woman except sleep with her. At first he was shaky and unsure with no experience with anything remotely sexual. But at his partner's direction he quickly gained confidence.

Shiva would stay late into the night during any of their little trysts and often leave sometime in the early mornings—sometimes even after the sun rose. Either way, she was gone before the Dursleys noticed anything. Her aggression once caught him off guard, shattering whatever delicate image he held about being with a woman. But every time she came to him, demanding more and more, he held no qualms about letting her take charge.

Shiva broke the kiss and looked at him with half-lidded eyes, "I've got your present."

Before Harry could ask what it was Shiva ripped off her shirt, confirming to him that she was _not_ wearing a bra, and shoved him onto the bed. Harry gulped hard and tried to sit up, but Shiva, in lioness mode, pushed him back down again as she climbed aboard and attacked his lips. As the night wore on, each and every article of clothing they were wearing eventually found a nice comfy place to sit on the floor for the rest of the night.

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Hurrah! Harry's being molested! Just kidding. For those of you who know Inuyasha, he and Kouga obviously have settled their differences. Well, for the most part. Read on, read on!


	13. Birthday II

**Birthday II**

Dudley Dursley stomped tiredly down the stairs the next morning, one heavy footfall after another. Having woken up much earlier than accustomed to, he had to grip the railing to keep from toppling over with his weakened sense of balance. He turned to enter the kitchen where, undoubtedly, his mother would be when a sharp knocking was heard at the door. Too sleepy to care about whom would call at that hour, he trudged over to the door and wrenched it open.

"Hi there!" a bubbly voice cried in a pitch labeled ungodly for that time in the morning. The owner of it belonged to a young woman with bright, blue and purple spiked hair. Suddenly awake, Dudley slammed the door in her face, recognizing her from earlier in the summer when they picked up his freak of a cousin.

"Mum!" he cried, rushing to the kitchen. "It's one of _them_!"

"Well don't leave them out on the doorstep where anyone can see them. Let them in!" She hissed, walking into the hallway in a nervous sort of manner. "And go wake your cousin. I want them out of here as soon as possible."

Dudley gulped and swung open the door before dashing up the stairs as fast as he could with his hands around his bottom. Tonks stepped into the house uncertainly, disturbed by the boy's behavior.

"Won't you come into the kitchen," Petunia forced out with a tight smile. "He should be down in a few minutes."

Tonks grimaced at her syrupy tone and followed the woman through the disgustingly neat hallway.

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Harry woke to an annoying pounding on his door. He groaned and buried his face in his pillow, trying to block it out. While trying to turn away he ended up rolling over into another, smaller body. Harry's eyes creaked open and looked down at Shiva, who was waking up as well. The knocking insisted.

"Wss that noiz..." she mumbled cuddling into him and rubbing her body against his. Harry reddened and shook her slightly. It wouldn't do to have one of his relatives finding him with a naked girl in his bed.

"Shiva—you've got to hide! Hurry up, before my uncle finds you!"

Shiva opened her eyes and squinted at the door that was now rattling at the hinges. They widened as she understood and she quickly attempted to pull herself out of the sheets when the door was kicked open. Shiva squeaked and fell off the bed sideways, on the side opposite from the door. Dudley's mouth hung open in shock as he looked from his naked cousin sitting in his bed to the obviously feminine leg sticking in the air from behind it. His shock melted into a smirk.

"Well, well Potter. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Dudley," Harry growled, pulling the covers away from Shiva and back onto him. He pointed to the door. "Get. Out."

Dudley, still smirking, backed out of the door innocently, "Just thought you'd like to know one of those freaks are here for you."

"Oh shit," Harry moaned, slapping a hand to his forehead after his cousin left. Shiva popped up from behind the bed, now in a bra and panties.

"I should go now," she said giggling. She quickly moved around the room, pulling on the rest of her clothes.

"Oh, you thought that was funny?" he asked, but he smiled as well.

"Yup. Oh yeah, Happy birthday, Harry."

She leaned in and kissed him soundly on the lips. One of the first things Shiva insisted they establish was a definition, and both agreed to keeping their "relationship" as platonic as possible—especially since Harry knew Shiva and Tai had a thing for each other. Therefore, they were just friends-with-benefits.

Large benefits.

Harry sighed, sliding out of his bed and pulling on a pair of boxers. He ran out of the room for one of the fastest showers of his life. When he returned Shiva was gone, leaving the window open. In her place, however, was Inuyasha who comically held a hand over his nose.

"Jesus Christ Potter," he moaned, backing away from the bed.

Harry ignored him and began pulling on a comfortable pair of faded jeans and a fitting black tee shirt with a yellow Converse logo on the front.

"I hope you could tell—"

"—She's in heat. I know," Harry interrupted as he reached for his glasses. He gazed in the direction of the kitchen using his x-ray setting to find Tonks sitting awkwardly at the table with his aunt.

"Why the hell is she here?" he mumbled.

"They're taking you to H.Q. for a birthday party," Inuyasha said, sticking his head out the window and taking a dramatic gulp of air.

"Will you knock it off?" Harry said sharply to him as he strapped a dagger on the inside of his boot.

"Your entire room reeks of sex. I wouldn't be surprised if your family noticed," Inuyasha complained.

Harry laughed, thinking of Dudley, "I think it's a bit too late for that. I'll just leave the window open while I'm gone."

Inuyasha grinned, "Well you better hurry down, I can hear your cousin tattling on you. I don't think your aunt is very happy."

Harry's eyes widened risibly.

"That little shit," he hissed before racing out of his room and down the stairs, Inuyasha's antagonizing laughter following him all the way.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"I'm telling you mum—it was a girl! And she fell out of his bed. They were both naked!" Dudley explained to his mother what he saw with the most naive voice he could muster. On the inside, he was laughing.

Tonks sat at the table with a hand over her mouth, shocked. This did not sound like something the Harry Potter she met would do. Harry was a sweet kid, a little reserved and unsure of himself. She watched as the scowl on Petunia's face deepened with every word out of her son's mouth.

"_Dudley!"_ a voice growled from the doorway, the tone threatening bodily harm. Knowing it was Harry, Tonks turned to face him. Her jaw dropped.

The young man in front of her could hardly be recognizable from the boy she saw mowing the lawn a month ago. He looked as if he had actually been fed this year, now standing a good head taller than her at about five foot nine. His body had noticeably filled out as well. His t-shirt stretched lightly across his chest and broader shoulders at the slightest movement and his jeans fit nicely on his slim waist—a large improvement from his last wardrobe.

His hair had grown yet still held it's character messy look, styled in an outward shag-like cut with longer bangs pushed appealingly to one side of his face. The glasses were cool too. The thinner, rectangular frames made his face look more angular and the yellow tinted color was very modish. What shocked her most were his piercings, which, thanks to his hair, she never would have known to look for had she not already spoke to Kingsley. There was a small, silver hoop in each ear lobe and on his upper left ear was a longer, thicker earring.

Dudley ceased his tattling and looked sheepishly at his cousin, though neither Harry nor Tonks missed the hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"Boy!" his aunt screeched, forgetting about the witch in her kitchen. "Are you bringing girls into your bed behind our backs?"

Harry stared at her.

"Would you have rather watched?" His cheek earned him a warning glare from his open-mouthed aunt. Tonks snorted, drawing Harry's attention to her.

"Hey Tonks. Come to take me away?" he grinned.

"Just for today," she replied easily. She was still trying to adjust to the new Harry Potter in front of her.

"Oh yeah? What for?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"We've got a birthday party for you!" Tonks cried, enthused. She suddenly looked horrified and clamped her hands over her mouth. Harry smirked in his victory.

"Can you pretend I didn't say that?" she asked meekly.

Harry lowered his voice and smiled boldly, "I dunno...it'll cost you."

Tonks' mouth opened once, and then twice, before she managed to gasp out, "Potter, I know you aren't hitting on me..."

"Oh, please," Harry said as if the very notion was ridiculous. Tonks shut her mouth and glared at him.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Take it how you will, Nympha—"

Harry found a cedar wand pointed at his Adam's apple.

"Do it," Tonks challenged. "Finish that sentence."

Harry, amused, cocked his head to the side and calmly tipped the wand away from his person with one finger.

"You're so dramatic," he criticized, laughingly. Tonks let the jab roll right off her, a smile of her own coming to her face.

"From what I hear, you can take dramatic to a whole new level," she countered, lowering her wand.

"What you hear are lies."

"Will you please leave our house," Petunia spoke up in a whimpering voice. Her eyes were fixated on Tonks' wand.

"Yeah, fine," Harry waved her off before nodded to Tonks. "So how are we going? It's too light out for brooms."

"I know. We're using a portkey."

Harry grimaced. He was officially scarred when it came to portkeys.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he sighed placing his hands on the offered ballet slipper. No doubt the doing of Dumbledore's warped sense of humor.

Right before he felt the unpleasantly familiar tug behind his navel he blurted out, "—dora!"

Then the kitchen of number four Privet Drive disappeared from his vision.

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o

"Fred! George! Come help me set the table!" Molly Weasley yelled at her twins as she put the finishing touches on a very large cake. "Harry will be here any minute!"

"Oh, I hope he's alright," Hermione said worriedly to her new boyfriend as they snuck out of the kitchen to avoid being put to work. The confession that began their relationship wasn't the one she had imagined as a little girl—Ron blurting out his feelings for her in the midst of one of their arguments—but she had been too happy at the time to care.

"I'm sure he's fine, Herm," Ron placated his girlfriend. "Kingsley said he's doing really well, anyway. I mean, he didn't even write to us all summer! The least he could have done was respond to our letters."

Ron tone suggested that said he was a little more than upset at his best friend. Hermione continued to fret.

"Oh, come on Ron, Harry's had it really hard lately. I mean, he just lost Sirius and now he has to stay with those horrid relatives, isolated. Don't you think he needs some time for him to grieve?"

"True, but I think Ron may have a point," Ginny piped up from behind them. "Harry needs to stop stewing about everything and start realizing he has friends willing to listen. It's been almost two months since...the ministry. We should have heard something by _now_. Isolation can't be good for anyone."

"Ginny—," Hermione started to admonish but was cut off by the screams of Mrs. Black.

"FILTHY HALF-BLOOD, GET AWAY FROM ME! HOW DARE YOU! NO! NO STOP—"

The trio ran into the main hallway where Mrs. Black was near tears screaming. Drawn on her face was a black mustache curled over her lips along with a scratchy goatee on her chin. The space between her eyebrows was filled in and the outline of a crude beret tipped to the side on her head. At the new audience she hastily pulled her own curtains closed in embarrassment.

A figure stepped away from the portrait, capping a permanent black marker. He turned around to reveal a very satisfied and barely recognizable Harry Potter.

"H-Harry?" Ron stuttered, staring at his friend. "What happened to you, mate?"

"My thoughts exactly," Tonks said dryly as she took back her conjured marker from the vandal and left to announce Harry's return to the rest of the family in the kitchen.

"Harry...what did you do to yourself?" Hermione asked in a frenzied voice as she approached for her biannual hug-of-death. Ginny stood behind her silently with her head tilted to the side.

Harry stared down at Hermione feeling slightly insulted and amused at the same time.

"You look good too Hermione, filling out nicely. Thanks."

Hermione reddened and pulled away, whether it was due to embarrassment or anger, he didn't know.

"I like the hair," Ginny said finally. "And did you get new glasses?" Ron watched with something akin to horror as his little sister drank in his best friend.

"The earrings Harry! Why so many?" Hermione continued in a pained voice. Harry felt relief in knowing that she didn't know about the other one or the tattoos, and made a vow to keep his mouth from opening too wide that evening.

"Why didn't you write to us? What about our letters to you?" Ron jumped in, with a mixture of aggression and relief. At the very least his best friend was all right.

Harry appeared genially confused at the question.

"I only got one letter this summer—" And that was as far Harry got before Mrs. Weasley burst into the room to greet him.

"Oh Harry, dear, it's so good to see you!" She pulled him into a tight hug before letting him go.

"Look at you! You've gotten so tall and so handsome! Is that an earring? What are those other ones? Oh please don't tell me you're taking after Bill! You're so good looking with out them! You look like a ruffian now..." Mrs. Weasley clucked. Harry couldn't help but grin as the only mother figure in his life fussed over him.

"Mum! Leave him alone," George called from the kitchen. "It gives him sex appeal."

Tonks, who had followed Mrs. Weasley out, started coughing loudly. Harry shot her a warning look to shut her up.

"George, you better have had that table set," Mrs. Weasly rebuked. "And don't use that language"

"Ginny! Stop ogling Harry and help us in the kitchen," Fred yelled at her

Ginny shrieked, "I am not ogling anyone. I'll have you know I have a very loving boyfriend which is more than I could say for you two!"

Her yells disappeared into the kitchen as she slammed the door.

"Well, come on now, Harry," Mrs. Weasley began herding him into the kitchen along with the others. "We have a wonderful meal prepared for your birthday."

"Great, I'm starving," Harry vocalized, causing the woman to smile.

Upon entering the kitchen Harry spotted many Order members including Mad-eye, Remus, Kingsley, Tonks, and the rest of the Weasley clan. Remus immediately jumped up to greet him.

"Harry," Remus cried, pulling the slightly shocked demon hunter into a hug. Harry hesitantly hugged back, still not used to such affection from people. He noted, with some pride, that he was no longer a head shorter than the man. Remus pulled back and seemed to be noticing the same thing.

"What have you been _doing_?" Remus asked with a ghost of a smile but Harry could tell his heart was only half in it. There were dark bags under his eyes and his face looked gaunter than ever. The grey hairs had almost doubled since he last saw the werewolf. Judging by the slightly shocked looks he had been receiving it seemed the rest of the company half-expected for Harry to look the same.

"Fine. But how are _you_ doing?" Harry asked quietly but Remus just shook his head and put on a strong smile.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad you're all right. I was worried about you," Remus said, leading him to the table. Mrs. Weasley was now setting down dishes of delicious smelling food all around the table.

"Hey Harry, like the look," Bill grinned as Harry sat between him and Hermione. Harry smiled back; he knew Bill wouldn't give him any shit about his moment of perforated weakness. He sensed random individuals at the table shooting him short glances and for once he didn't mind being the center of attention. This was something he did himself, not something everyone speculated he did. He'll take credit where it's due.

"Hello Harry, I see you've been busy this summer..."

Harry turned in his chair to spot the last man he wanted to see walk through the kitchen door.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

I am so, so, so, so sorry for taking so long. I was away in Europe on a vacation (which kicked ASS!) so I didn't get to update this for a couple weeks. Fear not—I am back.

As for what happened to Kagome, etc... That will be revealed in later chapters. Someday I might write an Inu Yasha prequel thingythat explains everything that led up to the present. But for now I have my hands full.

Thanks for the reviews lovelies!


	14. Tight Conversations

**Tight Conversations**

Harry sat up straighter in his chair and turned his back to the old man, "Really? And how would you know that? It's not like I've been able to keep in contact with anybody."

He said the last part with such enmity that almost everyone at the table stared at him in shock. Dumbledore sighed as if he were dealing with an impudent child and took a seat at the head of the table.

"Harry, you must understand, it's for your own good."

"You took my damn owl..." he growled, not caring if he was talking to the most powerful wizard alive. A side effect from spending most of his time with Inuyasha involved picking up an uncouth attitude and a bad mouth. The only difference was that Inuyasha wasn't a teenager, and thus knew how to wield the power of insolence when appropriate. Harry was still learning.

Hermione elbowed him hard while giving him a serious look.

"Harry Potter!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "Don't you dare take that tone with Professor Dumbledore! Apologize this instant!"

Harry steadily ignored her, intent on getting answers, "So where is she?"

"You needn't worry about that Harry, she is safe."

"I want her back by the end of the night," Harry demanded, disregarding the negative looks he was beginning to receive. It was becoming painfully obvious to the rest of the company that Harry's looks weren't the only thing that changed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Harry—"

"Yes you can," Harry interrupted aggressively, tired of his lame excuses. "Just because you're powerful doesn't give you the right to _steal_."

"We'll continue this after the meal, shall we?" It was evident Dumbledore was quickly losing his patience, especially with a few shocked looks being sent his way as his actions were revealed.

"Fine," Harry said in a satisfied tone. A short, tense silence ensued as people began scraping food onto their plates. Harry did his best to pretend like everything was fine even though on the inside he was itching to chuck Hermione's fork at the bastard's swollen head. He wouldn't chuck his own—he was too hungry.

Slowly, conversation began to break out around the table, ending the tension.

"So is that why you didn't write to us, Harry?" Hermione asked quietly to him. "Because professor Dumbledore took Hedwig?"

"Yeah," Harry said shortly, "I believe in the letter he sent me he said he had _'taken the liberty'_ or some shit like that."

Hermione flinched, "I really wish you wouldn't swear like that. Ron's bad enough as it is."

"Sorry," Harry said, not really meaning it.

"Hey Fred," Tonks said, just loud enough for Harry to hear. She was sitting across the table from him between the Weasley twins. "Do you know why we were late getting here today?"

"Do enlighten me," Fred replied, knowing the answer would be good.

"I slept in," Harry said quickly.

"Mmhmm," George responded in an unconvinced voice. "Come on now Harry, we've known you long enough to know that the only day you sleep in on is Christmas."

"Freak," Fred added.

"Well you can't really blame the man, he was _very_ exhausted. I mean, he must have been after the night he had," Tonks continued as if it were a completely innocent conversation. Harry sent a look that would send most demons running with their tails between their legs but Tonks paid no heed to him.

Bill, who had been listening in on the conversation so far, joined in with a smirk, "What—did you sneak out? Partying late were we?"

"Oh, quite the opposite really," Tonks said, shooting a fervent grin at Harry.

"Tonks..." Harry warned.

"He stayed right in his bedroom like a good little boy. He invited the party in there. A _privet_ party," she said with meaning. Thankfully yelling at Ron to eat with his mouth closed distracted Hermione from hearing anything, who was sitting next to him. The rest of the table was also in their own conversations.

Bill's eyes widened at the implication as Fred and George's jaws dropped. They all looked at Harry to see if the metamorphmagus was saying what they thought she was saying. Harry dropping his reddened face into his hands was confirmation enough.

The three Weasley boys howled with laughter and praise, pounding their fists on the table and clapping their hands. Many occupants of the table looked up from their meal in alarm, wondering what the commotion was about.

"Way to go Harry," Bill said affectionately slapping him on the back. Harry tried to scowl at him but couldn't keep a straight face. He grinned as well.

"Way to go what?" Ron asked, looking over Hermione's head. "What did Harry do?"

"What hasn't he done?" Fred said, earning another bout of laughter from the group, Harry included.

"Harry what are they talking about?" Ron asked.

Harry opened his mouth to say the first excuse that would come to mind before a tune began to flow from his back pocket.

"_There's a skeeter on my peter whack it off..."_

The table quieted down as the song carried out across the table. Harry stood from his chair, pulling out his cell phone at the same time.

"Er...excuse me," he said as he hastily walking out of the room and shut the door.

"Hello?" he answered as soon as he was out of earshot.

"'Sup Harry?" a lively voice said on the other end. It was Alaina.

"Hey!" he responded, happy to hear from her. Being in the presence of so many wizards was starting to wear on him. He couldn't talk to them about what he was actually doing during his summer; one whiff of dangerous activity and they would really have him on lockdown.

"How are things in wizard land?"

"Tiring. I haven't even been here for two hours."

"Poor baby," she said mockingly. "Anyway, I just wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday."

"Uh, thanks, but you did that yesterday."

"Yeah I know but I wanted to say it on the day of your birth. It's the big one six after all."

"Oh, well then thanks again."

"So what have you been doing since I last saw you? Anything particularly interesting...?"

"Alright, what has your father told you?" Harry asked accusingly, sitting on the base of the steps to the upstairs.

"Nothing! I haven't even seen him yet today. I'm staying at my mother's."

"...Oh. Well Shiva stopped by last night. Where she practically ravished me."

"Is she angry with Tai again?"

"Furious. Hopefully she'll be more or less normal in a couple weeks."

"Thank God I'm only a quarter demon," Alaina spoke with relief. She was well aware that any female with half demon blood or more would go into heat once a year, staking out any male worthy of being their mates. Though, being half human often granted enough lucidity to know to use contraceptives.

"Yeah, I couldn't deal with two of you on my ass."

"And what makes you thing I would pick you as a potential mate?"

"Because I'm ridiculously sexy...to boot."

"Now you sound like my dad, which is just scary."

Harry grinned. He couldn't help but feel pleased anytime he was compared to Inuyasha, not matter the comparison.

"I have a question," he began, now finding the opportunity to figure something out that had been plaguing his mind for some time. "Why are your parents divorced?"

"Cuz my mom's a bitch," Alaina said loudly as if hoping said woman would hear her. Harry laughed and sat down on the bottom step to the stairs.

"I mean really."

"Well she and my dad were happily married for about a good ten years but Dad always said she was a bit vain. As time went on she got more and more jealous that she was aging and he wasn't. So after about four years of putting up with her shit dad finally called for a divorce. It was actually kind of funny. He told her she could then 'find someone more her age'. She's always been really bitchy since."

Harry laughed. He heard some background noises from the other end.

"Alright Harry, Bridget wants to talk to you. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

There were a few moments of silence before a childish voice spoke, "Hi Harry!"

"Hi Bridget," he said with a smile.

"Happy Birthday, Harry! Mine is in one month!"

"Really? When is it?"

"August twenty-second. I'll be seven and then you can be my boyfriend!"

A loud '_As if'_ sounded in the background making Harry laugh some more.

"I dunno Bridget; I think I may still be a little too old for you."

"Trust me Harry, one day you will marry me."

"If you say so."

"I have to go now. Alaina looks f-furi—?"

"Uh, furious?"

"Yeah! That's it, furious. I think she's mad at mommy. Bye, bye! Kiss, kiss!"

Harry laughed, "Bye."

He smiled to himself as he snapped his phone shut and walked back into the kitchen. Hearing from Inuyasha's kids brightened his day. The smile on his lips faltered when he entered the kitchen only to be met with an odd silence as everyone stared at him.

"Harry, what the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley simultaneously walloped him for his language.

"Cell phone," he said simply, flashing it to show the gathering before sliding it into his jean pocket and returning to his seat. "Sorry for the interruption."

"Cell phone? Is that like a phellytone?" Mr. Weasley asked. His eyes were alight at the mention of a new muggle device.

"Yeah, only they're smaller and you carry them around with you."

"Who would call you?" Tonks asked suddenly and then winced after realizing how bad that sounded.

"No one," Harry replied curtly trying to end the array of questions.

"Was it someone who was is your house this morning?" Tonks persisted, an amused glint in her eye.

"No," he ground out forcefully. "It was someone else."

Fred, George and Bill started snickering.

"Who was in your house this morning?" Ginny asked. Harry bit back a growl and desperately tried to keep his face from revealing his embarassment. They didn't seem to be getting the hint that the conversation was over.

"Tonks was, now drop it and let me eat."

"Time for cake!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted as Ginny glaringly opened her mouth to tell him off. She set on the table one of the largest, most delicious cakes Harry had ever seen. No matter how smothering she got sometimes, he really loved that woman.

The rest of the day was pretty fun for him. After a couple helpings of Mrs. Weasley's delicious cake they moved onto presents. Harry received a book on dueling from Hermione and a box of 23 chocolate frogs (one had been eaten) and a collection of quiddich posters from Ron. The Weasleys on the whole gave him an upgraded sneak-o-scope and dobby had sent him a pair of horribly mismatched socks.

As the sky outside began to darken and the company thinned out Dumbledore finally called Harry into the sitting room for their talk. Harry was elated. Really, he was.

"Have a seat Harry," Dumbledore said gently as he seated himself on a reclining chair

Harry flopped down on the end of one of the sofas and got comfortable; this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. Dumbledore was frowning, the customary twinkle noticeably absent in his eye.

"Harry," He began, leaning forward and steepling his fingers. "I am concerned for you. Your attitude this evening was hardly appropriate and you've barely spent anytime socializing with your friends."

"Soc—," Harry had to compose himself before he continued, "Socializing with my friends? How am I to do that when you purposefully isolate me!"

Dumbledore sighed once more.

"These aren't easy decisions I have to make, Harry. I beg you to realize that. You also don't seem be grieving for Sirius as much as we expected you to. Of course it may be for the best...but it is still unnerving that you have been acting out of character as of late."

"I did mourn for Sirius, quite a bit. Still am, really," Harry said tersely. A wan smile reached his lips. "But death is but the next great adventure, wouldn't you say headmaster?"

The twinkle returned in the headmaster's eye.

"Oh, I quite agree Harry."

"I'm sorry if you dislike my attitude, professor, but perhaps I've just gotten used to being alone. I haven't spoken to my friends all summer, I don't know why I should start now," Harry decided starting off with the guilt trip sounded like a suitable way to begin the bargain for his bird.

"It was for the best. You need to be protected—"

"Don't give me that shit. It is for my best interest to keep me sane, especially if you expect me to fight that asshole for you! What I need is to be _prepared_ to fight him. Now I want Hedwig back."

"I would appreciate it if you would not address me in such a manner again, Mr. Potter. I think I have given you far too much leeway in the past—"

"Leeway?" Harry interrupted again, falling into shock at the nerve this man had, "You have me locked in a house with...with...Nazis! Now—Where. Is. Hedwig?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"I cannot have you communicating with anyone—it's too dangerous. Think of this _war_, Harry. You must be extra cautious—"

"Then I promise I won't mail anyone."

"Now, it's not that I don't trust you Harry—"

"Bull shit," Harry called him out. "If that were the case then you would have kept me informed about what's happening in the war. You don't have the authority to make these decisions. I want her back and if I don't see her in my room before the week is over I won't be returning to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore rubbed his eyes tiredly before responding, "You can't do that Harry. Witches and wizards are required to finish their magical education if they want to keep their wand."

"Then I will finish it elsewhere."

"I will not allow that—"

"Fuck you!" Harry spat, jumping to his feet. He would have grinned at the headmaster's appalled look if he weren't so angry. He continued in a much colder tone, "Keep it up Dumbledore and you'll lose more than just a weapon."

Harry then turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him for effect.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o


	15. A Most Cliché Betrayal

**A Most Cliché Betrayal**

_Harry then turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him for effect._

Turning around, he found himself facing three appalled individuals, extendable ears shamelessly held in their hands.

Ron was the first to speak, his face slightly red.

"Are you bloody well, insane? Did you just tell Albus Dumbledore to...to..."

Harry stared at him silently. Everything was quiet for a moment as Hermione and Ginny nervously looked between the two boys.

"Well?" Ron prompted.

"Well what?" Harry asked, playing stupid.

"What was that about?"

"What was what about?"

"Harry!" Ron stepped up to him threateningly, using his 6ft height for an intimidating appearance. Harry had to hold in a laugh. He just took out a snake demon three times the size of him a week ago. "I don't know what your problem is but you better knock it off."

"What are you talking about?"

"You! This tough-guy look. How you just told our Headmaster to 'fuck off'. How you only really talked to my brothers. How you blew us off!" he finished with a shout. Hermione put an arm on Ron's arm to calm him down. "Where did this...this arrogance come from?"

Harry only focused on one piece of the spiel at a time, "And when did I blow you off?"

"You didn't answer my letter!"

"What the hell!" Harry exploded. "Weren't you listening? That manipulative bastard took Hedwig—I never _got_ any letters. You want to talk about arrogance? Dumbledore has done nothing but strong-arm me into his plans time and time again. That's what _bullies_ do, Ron. They take things from you while telling you there's nothing you can do about it. I'm not putting up with it any more."

Ron oddly seemed to deflate after Harry's tirade, but a hint of animosity remained evident in the hard look he continued to give Harry.

"Harry, don't call Dumbledore that," Hermione said patiently. "He's only trying to protect you."

"Yeah, trying and failing. I'll call him whatever the hell I want. Shit—it's like he _wants_ me to turn into the next dark lord..."

"Okay, I understand you're pissed, but can you lose the attitude?" said Ginny in a cool tone. "Stop acting like you're all that just because you got some piercings and a new look."

Harry leaned down towards her and replied softly, "If it bothers you that much—stay away from me."

"What's really going on Harry?" Hermione asked. She didn't want to pick sides but she honestly felt Harry was going too far with this. Nobody should defy Dumbledore like that. Not after everything he'd done for them. "We know something's up. The Order claims you never leave the house but you show up here with all these new clothes, a new disposition, and a cell phone of all things! Who were you talking to? You don't know any muggles, do you?"

Harry could tell by the expression on her face that she had been holding this question in for the whole day.

"I guess you could say, the Order has been slacking. And I do live in a muggle neighborhood, incase you haven't noticed."

"You could have at least talked to us today!" Hermione continued, even though she felt there was something off about Harry's answer. "We haven't seen you all summer!"

"You should listen to your friends, Harry," Dumbledore spoke, walking up behind him.

Harry felt the beginnings of a headache press against his temples. He had gotten far too used to venting his anger on demons. That was how he grieved: by destroying things. He found himself itching to kill something, and it scared him. It was almost uncontrollable. Granted he could never bring himself to kill a human as Voldemort could, but still, homicidal urges were not a good thing. Since there were no demons around, he was only left with one option. Escape before something disastrous happened.

He pushed his way past Ron, swearing up a storm, and marched up the stairs, not caring how much noise he made.

"Well, at least he isn't shouting this year..." he heard Hermione trail. Harry stopped around the corner and stared intently at the floor where his friends and Dumbledore stood. His glasses gave him a clear enough view to see Ron was shaking his head.

"Hermione, look at him, listen to him. He's acting like a bloody slytherin," Ron scoffed, clearly stung by how unrecognizable his friend had become. "All conceited and distant. Maybe it's a good thing he wasn't inducted into the Order...at least we'll have one up on him if he does turn."

"Now, now, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore appeased sagely. "I only allowed you three in the Order so early so that you can keep an eye on Mr. Potter. That is your only purpose. Anything else and your mother would have my head."

"No offense sir, but how can we help him if he won't interact with us?" Ginny asked.

He saw Hermione nod in agreement, worry etched across her forehead.

"I was worried about that myself," she said.

That was all Harry could bring himself to hear. He continued his journey to the bedroom he slept in last year. Crossing the room to the only window, he slid it open and climbed onto the roof.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Back in the kitchen, the remaining Weasley's along with Mad-eye and Tonks waited for their esteemed leader and wonder boy to return from their talk.

"I swear," Molly Weasley spoke with indignation. "I don't know what has gotten into that boy! He was such a shy, sweet child..."

Bill patted his venting mother on the shoulder, biting his lip to keep down his smile, "It's alright, mum. I'm pretty sure it's just a rebellious teenager phase. It'll pass in a few years."

George stared at his eldest brother, "You never grew out of _yours_."

Neither statement did anything to alleviate Mrs. Weasley. Tonk's seemed to agree with the boys.

"I like him even more now," she said. "He was a bit moody last year, don't ya think? Now he seems to have the bite to back up his bark. And he looks good."

"Yeah, hasn't bitched anyone out yet," Fred threw in. "Except for Dumbledore, really. But that's hilarious."

"Yes. We'll be able to tell our children that we were present when the great Albus Dumbledore got owned by a teenager," George supplied, staring dreamily into space. "A moment in history few were able to witness."

"Enough you two," Molly snapped.

Just then Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked back into the kitchen, shortly followed by Dumbledore.

"Where's Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked. Ron grimaced.

"He ran off somewhere upstairs—" he looked like he had wanted to say more but a stern look from the Headmaster stopped him.

"Can you be so kind as to pinpoint him for us, Alaster?" Dumbledore asked thinly.

Mad-eye rolled his magic eye upward and glared at the ceiling.

"On the roof," he said with a hint of mirth, a bit of a grin moved his grisly features. "...smoking."

"What?" Hermione and Mrs. Weasley shouted at the same time as Ginny's mouth dropped open. Dumbledore's eyebrows raised and Ron glowered amidst rapid blinking.

"Harry doesn't smoke!" Hermione cried, distressed. She suddenly gave Mad-eye an accusing glare as if he were lying.

"Leave him alone mum," George said to his mother as she started her way out of the kitchen. "If it's his choice—"

"Oh no! Not this time! This is too far—smoking! On the roof! Of all things!"

Mrs. Weasley stormed out of the kitchen muttering all the things she was going to say to that boy.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Harry closed his eyes and blew smoke out of his nose and mouth. The stress of the day's events flowed out of him in the usual, weightless manner he had become accustomed to. He didn't expect it to be so hard to be around his friends after growing into his new lifestyle.

If he could even call them friends anymore.

Harry could feel a bubbling rage at their small betrayal and quickly took another drag.

Dumbledore was using them to spy on him...and they agreed. The man may have spun it so that they were under the impression that it was for his benefit, but still...

They agreed.

Harry blew out more smoke. He would be the first to admit that he could have handled his little tête-à-tête with Dumbledore better; he really did have to work on his temper. His aggression also bothered him. While he found it increasingly difficult to be around people in general, it was no excuse for the way he reacted to any negative stimulus today and he was starting to regret it.

He had been pretty blunt in most of his responses and he was a little rude, a most uncalled for way to express gratitude to the people who just threw a birthday party for him. It was no wonder many of the Order members were acting weary around him. He resolved to apologize to Mrs. Weasley later.

"_Harry James Potter!"_ Harry jumped slightly, cursing himself for getting lost in his thoughts and not pay close enough attention to his surroundings. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked over to the window he climbed out of. The cigarette almost fell out of his mouth as he spotted Mrs. Weasley's head stuck out the window, watching him furiously.

"You get in here _this instant_! And put that bloody thing out!"

Harry gulped. He knew he was in trouble if Molly Weasley was swearing.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"OF ALL THE IRRISPONSIBLE, STUPID THINGS TO DO—THE ROOF OF ALL PLACES—SMOKING!—AS IF WE DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AS IT IS—!"

Harry grimaced. The shouts of Mrs. Weasley bounced along the walls and down the hall, filling the dismal house with her heated voice. Not even Mrs. Black, who had yet to make a sound since her "make over", dared to attempt to shout over her.

"—COULD HAVE SLIPPED AND FELL—NEVER IN ALL MY YEARS—"

Harry stared at the floor, pretending to look ashamed while he focused on the kitchen downstairs. He saw Hermione sitting in a chair, looking completely shocked if not somewhat satisfied at hearing him being reprimanded; Ron was next to her, holding a similar air of both gratification and bewilderment. Bill, Tonks and the twins were falling over each other laughing. Dumbledore was listening to the rant, a disappointed look on his face, while Moody stood in a corner seeming highly amused.

"—AND JUST WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" she finished, nostrils flaring. There was a slight ringing in Harry's ears that he was sure he would be hearing for another day or so.

He lifted his gaze from the floor to meet Mrs. Weasley's red face and angry brown eyes.

"Nothing," he said calmly. It wasn't like he could deny anything. She opened her mouth to begin shouting again and he hastily continued. "I don't see anything wrong with what I did. So what if I wanted some fresh air and a fag? What's the big deal?"

"You are too young to be smoking! And don't you dare start that tone with me young man! Oooh, if you were my son I would—"

"—But I'm not your son! I'm no one's son. What do you care, anyway? You're not my mother!" he bit out before he could stop himself. Mrs. Weasley seemed to deflate after that, though her ire was not completely gone. She bore an odd look on her face, almost hurt, and Harry couldn't tell whether she was going to cry or start yelling again.

"No," she said shakily, her bottom lip quivering. "No, but I believe I'm the closest you've got to one."

Harry suddenly felt worse than before, and if there was anything he hated felling, it was guilt. Hadn't he just decided to apologize for his rude behavior earlier? He swallowed hard and decided to make amends with her now. After all, it was her kids he was upset at, at the moment, not her.

"Mrs. Weasley...I'm sorry. I really am. Not only for disappointing you, but also for how I acted like a jerk towards everyone earlier. It was very rude of me, especially after you made that cake and threw the party. I didn't mean what I said either. You are like a mother to me. I-I am really glad you're in my life."

He hadn't meant for it to sound so trite, but he was new at this whole expressing-yourself deal. Mrs. Weasley's face softened and she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh Harry," She sobbed, finally breaking down, "Your not a disappointment, not at all. I understand S-Sirius leaving us had to be terrible for you. And no matter how hard you try to hide it, it shows in how you act towards people. You need to talk to people. I do wish you would open up to me; talk to me."

"Maybe someday," Harry murmured, finally hugging her back.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

When he came downstairs, Dumbledore stood waiting with a portkey to take him back to the Dursley's and a letter with his OWL results. Harry accepted them impartially, not looking the old man in the face. He also kept his eyes determinedly cast away from his friends, still feeling the sting of betrayal.

"Well, uh, thanks everyone, for the gifts and everything. And the cake. That was good—"

"Harry!" Hermione gasped suddenly, her eyes narrowing, "Is that a tongue ring?"

Harry froze, mid speech, and instantly clapped his mouth shut.

"Uh...Bye!" he rushed out hurriedly, and before Hermione could start yelling at him he grabbed the portkey.

0o0o00o

* * *

0o0o0o


	16. Unwanted

**Unwanted**

Harry groaned as a particularly annoying bird twittered outside his window woke him much too early for his liking. He tiredly rolled out of his bed and winced as the tongue lashing Mrs. Weasley delivered last night returned with vivid clarity.

Grinning ruefully at his subsequent departure, he rubbed his eyes with the knuckles of his left and absently felt around for his glasses with his right. His hand ended up stumbling upon the OWL scores that he left on his desk and he brought them to his face after donning his specs.

Nine OWLs wasn't so bad; he wasn't a genius, but he wasn't completely daft either. Academically speaking, that is. He received an O in DADA, just as he predicted, and the rest of his grades consisted mostly of E's and A's with the exception of Divination where he received a D and, of course, History of Magic, his one and only T. His career choice of being an auror was down the drain seeing as he only received an A in potions, but it didn't matter much to him anyway. There was no way in hell he was going to work for the ministry after last year. Not to mention he seemed to have a career already picked out for him.

Besides, the less of Snape he saw the better.

Harry got dress in a pair of baggy, gray gym shorts and a white tank and went outside for a jog. The air was unusually humid for that time in the morning and after only twenty minutes, sweat began gathering on his chest and forehead. He enjoyed it nonetheless. Running was another outlet for stress, next to smoking—an odd combination, but effective. His ears picked up an additional pair of feet pounding on the ground, catching up to his. He glanced to his right to find the girl from the grocery store running right along side of him.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. She seemed to be having a bit of trouble keeping up with him. He wasn't about to slow down on her account though; it wasn't his problem. "I didn't know you ran."

"Well now you do," he said dispassionately. He felt annoyingly self-conscious that her eyes continually dropped to his sweat-soaked body rather than meeting his own.

The girl looked fleetingly disheartened for a moment before adding, "So you want to hang out sometime, if you're not busy? You didn't exactly give me a straight answer last time."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "And why would you want to hang out with me?"

"Oh, erm, I just wanted to...make up for the way I treated you in primary school. I remember I was pretty horrible to you."

By this time Harry had reached the Dursleys front lawn and slowed to a stop. The girl followed suit, leaning down with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"What's your name again?" Harry asked.

"Rachel, Rachel Ackerman."

"Right..." Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say next. This girl didn't seem to give up. And he really had no interest in getting reacquainted with anyone or anything related to his childhood. Incidentally, he was saved in the next moment by his cousin, who came strutting out the door on his way to one of his gang member's homes. Dudley froze on the walkway as soon as he spotted Rachel. His stance quickly changing from smug to glib.

"Hey Rachel," he said, making his voice a little deeper than usual and swaggering towards the two joggers. Harry quickly turned away and stuffed his knuckle into his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"Hello Dudley," she said dryly, looking completely apathetic. He didn't seem to notice her distaste at his presence.

"I didn't see you at Malcolm's party last week. Pity...I was hoping we could, ah, _talk_ some. Ya know?"

"Oh, well, er, I had other plans."

"Is that so? Well I think you should chill with the boys and me today. We're going to the Grill later."

The Grill was the local hang out place for teenagers in Surrey and was usually filled with them at all hours during the summer. Not a place Harry would enjoy considering his most recent reaction to being surrounded by people.

"I don't know..." She said looking perturbed. It was obvious she had no interest in hanging out with Dudley. Seeing as he was no longer holding anyone's attention, Harry decided to make his leave.

"Come on," Dudley persisted as Harry slowly moved towards the door. He was just at the steps, reaching for the door knob—

"Well, only if Harry will come too."

Harry dropped his hand in defeat, inwardly swearing at his luck.

"Oi Potter, you're coming to the Grill with us."

Harry turned to see Dudley trying to seem imposing and Rachel showering him pleading looks. A part of him deep, deep down may have felt a little bad for her.

"No," he said shortly, twisted the door handle.

"I'll tell Dad," came the anticipated response.

"And I'm sure my _friends_ will love that," Harry returned the threat. Rachel looked between the two boys, not following the conversation.

"Come on Harry," she pleaded. "Don't you want to see everybody again? Nobody's really seen you in five years."

"Let's try and make it another five then." Nobody probably remembered him anyway.

Then came the onslaught.

"Please—"

"—Potter I'm telling you—"

"—Please—"

"—I don't care about your freaky friends—"

"—Pleeeeeease—"

"—I'll Pound you if you don't—"

"—Pl—"

"ALRIGHT!" Harry roared; the incessant whining and commands grating on his nerves. He was just about willing to do anything if it got them to shut up. Rachel squealed, jumping up and down and clapping, having succeeded in her mission to get Harry to hang out with her. Dudley was smirking for he now had an opportunity to hang out with a girl he'd been eyeing all summer.

"Good. I'll meet you at the Grill at about noon," Dudley said to Rachel before strutting off towards Piers'. Rachel turned to Harry with a bright smile.

"Thank you so much. I have to go home and shower so I'll be looking for you at the Grill later, alright?"

"Yeah," Harry said, thoroughly annoyed at this point. This was not how he wanted to spend his day, especially after yesterday. He was already planning on skipping out.

"All right, I'll see you in a couple of hours!" She called; jogging in what he assumed was the direction of her house. He sighed, turned, and reached for the doorknob once more.

_Ring Ring_

Closing his eyes, Harry dropped his hand and pulled out his cell phone.

"Yeah?" he said shortly.

"Duck," said an all too familiar voice from the other end. Upon recognizing it, Harry immediately dropped to the ground, feeling a burst of hot air rush over his head.

He quickly rolled to the left and threw himself back up on his feet, whipping around to face...absolutely nothing. Though it appeared as nothing he could hear its heavy, rhythmic breathing several feet directly in front of him; its rancid breath puffed on his face. He knew something was there; the demonic energy it harbored came to the notice of his senses. His eyes darted back and forth trying to catch any movement of sorts. He mentally turned on his infrared function as blotches of heat formed in front of him. The demon was at least ten feet high and almost the same length wide.

Harry bent his knees slightly and began inching away from the house and towards the street, he didn't want to cause a disturbance near his aunt's flowerbed—she would kill him. The grass rustled as the demon moved forward to follow him. A short flick of his wrist brought his dagger forward and he wasted no time in cutting a long, shallow incision from the crook of his elbow to his wrist.

An earsplitting roar erupted from in front of him before he could perform any blood magic. Harry leapt backwards instinctively and felt something thick and razor sharp tear through his shirt and graze his stomach just enough to draw blood. A second claw swung forward and caught Harry on the side of the head. While he'd taken worse blows and the most he would get from that was an ugly bruise, his glasses were knocked off, leaving Harry with nothing but his other four senses. He nearly growled himself as the scent of his own blood, from his stomach and his heavily bleeding arm, clouded that of the demon. Harry quickly drew back his arm only to be stopped again as a giant cloud of fire materialized in the air and hurled towards him. Harry cried out in shock as he ducked, almost stepping on his forgotten cell phone in the process...which was still on.

'_Well this is great,' _Harry thought as he dodged to the left in response to some heavy movement on his right. _'I'm fighting an invisible demon who breaths fire AND I'm wasting my minutes!'_

As Harry ducked another blast of fire, he reached down and scooped up a handful of dirt before he straightened and threw it in the direction of the demon. An agitated face could barely be made out in the dirt cloud as the demon ferociously shook its head. Harry smirked, seeing his chance. He drew his arm back, locking the knuckles in a semi-bent position.

"Blades of Blood!" he cried viciously, sweeping his arm forward. Five, identical, crimson blades sliced through the air before cutting through the demon. Its body became visible in spurts of blood as it was torn apart in several places. Harry hopped up to the body, performing the burning ritual to get rid of the remains.

"Taste of your own medicine, bitch," Harry muttered as the flames died down into ashes before turning and walking into the house.

The door had hardly closed before he walked back out again, picked up the cell phone and his glasses, and walked back in, grumbling about stupid promises and dumb, fire-breathing demons.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o


	17. Shaken

**Shaken**

Harry stepped into his room with a towel wrapped around his waist after a quick trip to the bathroom for a shower and to bandage his arm and stomach. His left temple was tender to the touch and had already began to discolor. Thankfully his hair hid most of it.

As expected, Inuyasha was sitting happily on his bed by the time he returned, trying to balance one of Harry's quills on his nose. This was not the first time Harry had a glimpse of what the half-demon's mentality was really like.

"Thanks for the warning," Harry said as he pulled on his clothes.

"No problem," Inuyasha muttered scowling as the writing utensil floated away from his face. Harry shook his head sadly at his mentor and pulled out the book.

"God, I'm only halfway through this thing," he whined while flipping through the pages.

"Take your time," Inuyasha said, placing the quill back on the bridge of his nose. "There's no use rushing it. If you get something wrong in a ritual you could end up killing yourself or worse."

"Mmhmm," Harry said, not really listening. "I wonder where the Order guard was when I was attacked? Think Mundungus ran out on me again?"

"More likely he was killed by the demon before hand," Inuyasha shrugged. There was something in the way he said it that implied it was more than a speculation.

Harry, having long been working on desensitizing himself to the horrors war brought, swallowed the prospect with little difficulty.

"That would...suck. You weren't kidding when you said they'd be more likely to seek me out because of the threat I posed..."

Inuyasha had said that at the very beginning—demons were attracted to power. Not suicidally so, but power that would equate or just barely surpass their own. It was how demons moved up in hierarchy and prowess; they used other demons as stepping stones to the top, often times absorbing the youki of their victims to feed their strength. Hunters, due to their constant exposure to youki, often developed stronger, more prominent auras that signaled a challenge to nearby demons.

"I guess it's a good thing," Harry continued. "At least they'll be focusing on someone who can handle them and innocent people will be spared."

He continued flipping until he came upon a page that caught his interest.

"We gotta get someone on that gate," Inuyasha said, shaking his head. There was actual concern in his voice, something Harry never thought he would hear from the usually unflappable hanyou. "But it can't be given to anybody. It takes a certain mentality and specific life conditioning to be qualified. It could be another twenty years before we find one. That will certainly keep you busy..."

"Hey! What about this one?" Harry said excitedly, disregarding anything Inuyasha had just said and holding the book up to his face. Inuyasha leaned back to get a better focus and looked to where Harry was pointing.

"No," he said brusquely.

"Oh come on!"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"What's the harm?"

"Only the million and one things could go wrong."

"I would be so much more powerful. It would give me a HUGE advantage over Tim-Tim."

"No," Inuyasha stuck with finality. "N—O. You most likely wouldn't survive a ritual like that anyway. It fucks up your DNA too much."

Harry would not be deterred, "But what if I absolutely HAD to?"

"That would never happen. Trust me, it's not worth it."

Harry pouted, dropping the book back into his lap, knowing that he had lost this time. He looked longing at the diagram of one of the most complex rituals he had stumbled upon yet: the ritual to turn oneself into a demon.

It would require so much of his own blood that surviving it would be doubtful, but still...

There was a time when the very thought would be horrifying to him; how he would equate it with all things Voldemort. But he knew demons now, demons of every kind. If he could be like Shippo, or Kouga, or Inuyasha...he'd have a much more secure future ahead of him.

"You know what? For even suggesting that, I'm going to make you go to the Grill."

"What?!" Harry cried despairingly.

"Yep," Inuyasha grinned cheerfully. "It'll be good for you to hang out with kids your age."

Dudley and that girl Harry could handle, but he didn't even need to contemplate on how Inuyasha would make him do something. The man could be a sadist when push came to shove. He gave Inuyasha the most betrayed scowl he could muster.

"You just enjoy watching me suffer."

"You know it."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Harry glowered as he pushed open the door to the Grill and entered the loud and crowded area. He was not pleased with the arrangements of the day.

Without his cast-offs, it was easier than he thought to blend into the crowd. He currently wore a pair of black jeans, with a fit white t-shirt and his leather jacket, so anyone he accidently bumped into as he maneuvered through the throng of moving bodies wouldn't give him a second look.

"Harry! Harry, over here!"

He looked over the many heads to see Rachel with a group of what he assumed were her friends; kids who wouldn't dare talk to him in primary school. He groaned, cursing Inuyasha to the deepest pits of Hell, and made his way over to them.

"Hey," he said dully, barley audible over the loud music.

"Hey!" She said enthusiastically. Her friends, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic to see him, assessing him with guarded and quizzical looks. It was obvious they were forewarned exactly who would be joining them that afternoon.

There was a girl with short red hair that he vaguely remembered hanging around Rachel when they were little as well as a tall boy with spiked, dyed, blonde hair and another boy with brown hair and blue tips. Boys were really into coloring their hair these days.

"This is Cassidy and the blonde is Steve and that's Derek," Rachel introduced to him. Regardless of Cassidy's timid behavior to his presence she was shyly checking him out. Derek was in the process of sizing him up and the Steve boy seemed to have already made up his mind about Harry.

"Is it true you hijacked a car and shot three cops?" the blonde asked loudly with a haughty air about him. Judging by the collared shirt and clean slacks, Harry had to guess that this boy came from the wealthier part of town.

Harry merely stared at the other boy as though he were the biggest idiot on earth. Next to Fudge, of course. Steve seemed to lose the arrogant look on his face after a minute of silence.

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked, a bit angrily.

"No," Harry intoned. "The music must have been too loud."

Rachel frowned at her friend's aggression.

"Steve, knock it off. What's your problem?"

"My problem is this delinquent coming into our place. We didn't want him around in primary school, and we don't want him around now."

Even Derek and Cassidy seemed a little shocked by his outburst, but Harry welcomed it fully, sensing the precognition of a fight in the air. It had been along time since he had gotten into a fight with a human and he was itching to try. He originally had his heart set on Malfoy for the next time the little snake tried to start something he couldn't finish, but this kid wanted to start a fight with him, well, then it was his funeral.

"Steve!" Rachel snapped angrily. "What the hell is the matter with you? I told you he was cool. Why are you giving him such a hard time?"

Harry raised a hand to silence her.

"It's alright. I told you it was a bad idea for me to come here," he looked at Steve's cold, grey eyes. Eyes that annoyingly reminded him of Malfoy's. "Kid, I will go where ever the hell I want. And if you have a problem with it—do something about it."

Harry said this while stepping up to Steve's face, which was a few inches taller than his—closer to Ron's height, actually—another thing that made the thought of punching him in the face all the more enjoyable.

Steve hesitated, looking uncertain under Harry's steely gaze, and finally seemed to back down. Harry smirked, for once understanding the satisfaction Dudley got from people being scared of him. This kid was obviously smarter than he looked.

"Good move," he couldn't help but throw in as he turned his back on the group and started his way back to the Dursleys. Maybe this was why Inuyasha wanted him here; the man seemed to have a second agenda half the time. Maybe he thought Harry needed to find some closure with the people in his town or establish where he stood in terms of social acceptance. Now he knew no one from Little Whinging pick on him ever again.

He heard a scuffling of sneakers on the tiled floor and a short 'No!' from Rachel and the smirk returned full blast on Harry's face. So the kid wasn't that smart after all...

Harry didn't even need to turn around; he just ducked, allowing the slow, sloppy punch to sail over his head. A turn of his heel later and he landed a return blow in Steve's exposed side. The blonde fell down to one knee, holding he side and whimpering. Harry looked on with a dismayed expression. This was just pathetic.

Then he winced, feeling his stomach wound pull at the movement in his torso.

"Potter!"

Harry turned around to see Dudley and his followers marching forward through the crowd. By now, most of the occupants of the Grill were watching the commotion, cheering for more action. Harry had trouble keeping a smile off his face. Dudley would definitely be a bigger challenge than his last opponent, who, at the current time, was being helped up to his feet by Cassidy and Derek.

"Yes, Dudders?" Harry asked innocently. Dudley appeared stricken at the name for but a brief second before recovering his menacing posture.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked in a low voice, his boys flanking his side. Harry couldn't help but feel confused. Just last year Dudley enjoyed beating the snot out of a ten year old and now he seemed to be taking the role of defending people.

"Just self defense," he said innocently. A few people around them nodded, having witnessed the earlier events. Dudley puffed up and stepped up to Harry in the same threatening manner he had done earlier to Steve.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to get away with this, Potter," He said. His piggy eyes darted towards Rachel for a moment. Harry almost laughed out loud at what was going on. Dudley hadn't changed; he was trying to impress Rachel, who, at the moment, appeared quite unimpressed by everything that was going on.

Unafraid, but thoroughly bemused, Harry opened his mouth to say something that would surely egg Dudley on, but froze as an ominous chill swept through the air. Apparently he wasn't the only one who felt it either. Everyone in the Grill began muttering to one another, looking around for the source of sudden cold. Harry and Dudley locked eyes for a moment, Dudley's alarmed expression silently asking if it were the dementors he'd encountered last year. Harry gave a slow, small shake of his head. It most certainly wasn't dementors, for he didn't feel faint in the slightest. This chill was only skin deep and seemed to draw up goose bumps on anyone's flesh who had felt it.

Just as he was going to try and convince himself it was nothing harmful, the ground began to shake. All hell broke loose.

Teenagers ran in every which direction to find the nearest exit, Harry among them. He knew he had to get back to the Dursleys. He pulled out his cell phone as he ran down the street, trying to keep his balance as the ground continued to shake, and dialed Inuyasha's number.

"Fuck," Harry mumbled angrily as he only received a busy signal in response. He jumped over a crack that broke through the sidewalk and continued running towards the Dursleys.

"P-Potter...Harry! Wait up!" Dudley gasped out from the other end of the street, but he was no match for Harry's speed. As much as the overweight boy hated to admit it, his cousin was the only one who could protect him in cases like this. His train of thought was cut off as a telephone pole crashed down in front of him, causing him to scream like a girl.

Harry heard the scream from way behind him, but paid it no heed. He was standing in front of the Dursleys usually pristine house, frozen in shock. The structure, which he spent ten miserable years confined in, was now split directly down the middle and spread apart, showing half-rooms as if it were a giant doll house. And right between the two halves, embedded several meters into the foundation, was a canyon of sorts. A red fiery glow sparked and spitted from within—but instead of sending out heat it emitted the familiar chill that suddenly filled the area moments ago.

Harry stepped forward, his human instincts telling him to get the hell out of there. There was something innately threatening about the glowing hole in the ground that destroyed his relatives' home...something that imperiled his very soul.

He took another step forward against his better judgment. He had to find out what it was.

Harry now stood twenty feet away from the fiery pit, the chill more intense than ever before. He idly wondered where his aunt and uncle were…or his guard for that matter. The ground, which had been shaking with small tremors the whole while, suddenly gave a gigantic lurch, sending many floor boards and furniture falling into the abyss before him. And something else fell that caught Harry's eye. Something that made his heart stop beating. The book.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Heck yes. A couple more chapters and he'll be back in school. Whether I'll have Harry's humanity stay intact...well...I'll decide that later. I've also started my Inu Yasha prequel to this story, so check that out.

Thank you so much for the reviews! They make me smile:D


	18. Hell

**Hell**

Everything moved as if in slow motion: the book fell, delicately spiraling right past the first floor, through the basement, and disappearing into the ominous, open gap. As he watched the book descend Harry felt the only chance at beating Voldemort fall along with it.

He couldn't allow that to happen. Not when he was finally doing something with his life.

Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he held, he began sprinting towards the rift, and, like a true Gryffindor, didn't give a second thought about jumping right in after the book.

The ground closed up immediately after, leaving a house in ruins, Dudley gasping at his run and gaping at the damage, and another individual who seemingly appeared out of no where, swearing like there was no tomorrow.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"_Son of a fucking bitch_! Motherfucking, shit-timing, God-damned ball-sacked—" Inuyasha swore as he arrived just in time to see his protégé dive in after the book. He was pissed beyond all belief: somewhat at Harry, somewhat at himself, but mostly at the PTB. His "boss" so to speak. He knew they planned this, he just knew it.

Inuyasha took a deep, calming breath and looked over to his left, where he felt an annoying stare. It was Harry's fat cousin, Dudley...gawking at him and looking at him like he was crazy. Though whether it was for the swearing or his ears, Inuyasha didn't know.

The half-breed groaned at this realization. He was in such a hurry to get back he forgot to change into a human! Quickly doing so, he turned and addressed Dudley.

"Hey kid, was this the only hole that showed up in this area?"

Dudley didn't answer. He was still in shock from seeing someone change his appearance so fast. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and let out a small growl, sending Dudley out of his stupor.

"Oh, er, yeah I think," he said warily. He knew this had to be one of Potter's friends. Only he hung out with freaks.

"Alright...good," Inuyasha said to himself, appearing deep in thought.

He seemed civil enough, so Dudley decided to try and get some answers out of him.

"What happened to Potter? Where did he go?"

"Well, he essentially just committed suicide."

Dudley almost lost his balance at that.

"Huh? What do you mean? Why would he do that?"

"Because he's a fucking idiot," Inuyasha muttered darkly. "Do you know what that hole just was, kid?"

Dudley shook his head.

"An opening to Hell...a strained opening to Hell. Meaning someone, whether in Hell or in this realm just forced an opening in the rifts between them. And your cousin just hopped in there like it was a fucking spa."

"So...Harry's in Hell? Right now?"

"Yep."

"Does that mean he's dead?" Dudley asked. He wasn't sure if that news made him happy or not. He certainly knew his parents would be.

"Not yet. But humans cannot survive in Hell—there's a reason they're dead when they're sent there," Inuyasha looked up suddenly. "Well they took their damn time, didn't they?"

"Who?" Dudley asked, turning around. Cracks sounded off all around him, causing him to release another embarrassingly girlish scream. To his horror, wizards had unexpected appeared everywhere with their dangerous sticks out, covering the grounds to his property in seconds. Dudley looked back to find the strange man gone.

One of the wizards quickly approached him, causing him to take several steps back. He was very old, with a long white beard and strange, multicolored clothes.

"Mr. Dursley, I need you to tell me where Harry is. It is supremely important."

Dudley swallowed several times before he found his voice.

"H-he's in H-hell," he answered shakily. There was something about wizards that just frightened him to the core. The wizards around them started muttering to themselves, giving him hard looks from the response he gave.

"Hell?" the old one asked blankly. "Mr. Dursley, we do not have time for this. You must tell us what happened here. What happened to your house and where is your cousin?"

"That's what the weird guy said. There was a big hole in the ground that split the house. It got really cold and Harry jumped in it and then it closed," he said quickly, shrinking back from the man. He was staring into Dudley's eyes intently.

"He's telling the truth," the man said to the rest of the company. He turned back to Dudley with the same probing gaze. "Now, who is this 'weird guy' you spoke of?"

"I don't know. He had cat ears or something strange on his head and then he changed so he was normal. He was just here."

The old man was concerned and was about to ask another question when a frightened yell rang out.

"Dumbledore!" a young man with long red hair tied into a ponytail yelled from one of the bushes in front of the former house. "I found Diggle!"

"Oh, where is he?" a woman with spiked, pink hair yelled angrily, storming over to the bush. "When I get my hands on him for leaving Harry..."

"I don't think you'll be able to do much," the redhead said dryly and levitated the body out of the bush. Several black flakes of skin shed from the body, which was apparently burnt to a crisp.

Shocked gasps filled the area as everyone came rushing forward. Dudley felt decidedly sick and turned away from the body.

"How did this happen?" a black haired witch asked shakily.

"I do not know," replied Dumbledore quietly, waving his wand over the body. "But it appears to have happened several hours ago."

Before anything else was said a car pulled up to the driveway and out stepped the owners of number four Private Drive; the woman tight lipped and pasty white, the man purple faced and shaking with suppressed rage.

"W-what the—? What the effing, bloody hell have you done to my house?!"

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Harry groaned as he came to, his faced pressed against what smelled and tasted like dirt and sulfur. He expelled the foul substance from his respiratory tract with a few raspy coughs and pushed himself to his knees.

The first thing he noticed was that the ominous chill seemed as strong as ever, sweeping over his body like a cold blanket. Looking around, the only adjective that came to mind was bleak. He only saw miles and miles of flat, cracked ground with a few boulders dappled around. The sky was a blood red, churning, making patters in the atmosphere, and covering the land in a red hue. Harry shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. Why had he done this again?

His eyes widened as he remembered.

'_The book!'_

He looked around frantically, searching for his most valuable possession, finally spotting it several yards away. Harry ran over to it and picked it up, running his hand over the rough, leather-bound cover, grinning. He riffled through the pages to make sure nothing was damaged.

After a couple minutes Harry's grin faded to be replaced by one of horror.

He just jumped into _Hell_. _HELL_. The demon infested territory where humans are a delicacy. He would be hunted by everything that so much as caught a whiff of him. He was good for a beginner, but he wasn't _that_ good. Hunters who trained their whole lives would be dead after one day. It was just like Inuyasha told him all the time: Humans can't survive in hell. It just can't be done. Even for the 'boy-who-lived'.

Harry moaned and plopped down on a flat rock. Why? Why, for just once in his life, couldn't he think before he leaped? Literally!

Well, on the bright side Inuyasha would probably be out looking for him—seeing as he _was_ a guardian to a gate of Hell—so he had the ability to pass through either realm at will. Right? That and there were no demons around.

A deafening roar from behind him quickly silenced that thought.

"Oh, I am on a roll today," Harry said sarcastically as he jumped up and spun to face first demon of what was sure to be many.

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OMG! 200 reviews! You guys rock! I decided to bump up the rating due to Inu Yasha's mouth, Lol.

Just if your wondering: PTBPowers that be.

As for Diggle, it was the invisible fire-breathing demon that killed him last chapter.

Thanks again for reviewing:D


	19. Survival

**Survival**

"And he just jumped?" Hermione asked skeptically for what felt like the third time. What she heard both did and didn't sound like Harry. Harry could be rash, but he was also a survivor. He must have had a very good reason to do something.

Grimmuald Palace now held the Order in its entirety, and the news of the upset at the Dursley hotly buzzed around the room.

"This is on account of what his cousin said. A brief legitimacy scan showed that this is truth, or truth as he remembers it," Dumbledore said gravely. He had not foreseen this; he thought protecting Harry from all things malevolent and magical would ensure he lasted through the war. Or at least until the end of it.

"And it took him to Hell? It that even possible?" asked Ron, leaning forwards and resting his elbows in his knees. Hey may have been irked by Harry's attitude, but the very notion of what happened to his friend was concerning.

"Yes it is. Though not taught in muggle or magical school, there are many more angles to this world than we realize. I just never thought—," he broke off. The most powerful figure in their society seemed at a loss for a moment before continuing in a solemn tone. "Because of this, I'm afraid that all hope is lost for now."

"What are you saying, Albus?" Minerva asked, distraught. She felt as though she had aged an entire decade within one day.

The headmaster of Hogwarts met the eyes of every occupant in the room before answering, "There is simply no way for us to retrieve him. He will surely die."

Hermione grabbed Ron's hand with tight fingers. Ginny moaned and clasped a hand over he mouth. Mrs. Weasley burst into hysterical sobs, falling into her solemn looking husband.

"The daft fool," Severus hissed. He understood the importance Potter held in the war. If the boy was dead, did that mean everything he had put himself through as a double spy was for naught? He felt anger at his wasted life, anger directed at the last Potter.

He may have been the only one to feel such vexation. A terrified, somber mood had overtaken the room.

"But there's a chance his cousin was wrong, isn't there?" Hestia asked haltingly, grasping for any light. "Someone may have modified his memory..."

"Remember Diggle's body?" Bill countered. "Even if the kid was wrong and his memory was modified, someone was there with bad intentions and now Harry was gone."

"It may have been Voldemort or it may have been Hell. What does it matter? Harry's gone," Ginny said monotonously.

A new gravity hit the Order as they were forced to swallow the truth. They had lost their savior. To them, it felt as if they already lost the war.

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Harry cried out as he was thrown to the ground, landing hard on his dislocated shoulder. He was a mess, covered in blood and dirt, a fractured wrist, a claw right through his thigh, and a large gash in the back of his head. He was losing blood too quickly.

He looked up to see five different demons moving in on him falling. Despite managing to keep his glasses in tact, his vision continued to waver in and out of focus. The first demon he encountered was long dead, but its cry alerted many more. Too many for him to handle. Throughout the entire battle he kept the book at his side. He didn't come all the way down here just to lose it again.

He pushed his body backwards, attempting to put more distance between him and the closest assailants. This had been his tact for the last half of his battle: defense and evasion. He couldn't keep relying on utilizing blood magic when he needed so much of it to just keep moving.

It wasn't long before his back hit a rock. He was trapped.

Or was he?

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted a gap between the rocks. It would be a tight fit, probably an easy slip before he started bulking up, but he was sure he could manage it. The nearest demon raised a large, clawed hand, ready to strike him dead. Gathering his strength, Harry pushed off from the ground, gritting his teeth at the pain that shot up his leg from the thigh wound, and quickly squeezed himself through the narrow gap.

He heard ivory scraping against rock as the demon missed its target. Harry tumbled to the ground behind the rock wall

"Lumos," he muttered, knowing the ministry could only detect magic in the mortal realm. Not that he actually cared at the moment.

Looking around, Harry could tell he was in a small, low cave of some sort: one that only stretched about eight feet in all directions. And unfortunately for him, the only exit was the way he came in.

Harry let out a bone-weary sigh and leaned against the coarse wall, trying to block out the pain of his injuries. A loud scratching noise right next to his ear startled him. Rocks began falling from the opening in the rock, large sharp nails making an appearance. The demons were breaking through the rock.

"Oh fuck," Harry moaned.

"**Diffama**!" A power pulse in the shape of a bubble grew from the blood pooled at his legs and sharply expanded through the rock wall. It had no effect on the environment, but the demons were thrown back.

"**Tutis**!" A dome-like shield covered the immediate area around his miniscule fortress. It wasn't as strong because half of the blood he used belonged to demons he previously killed, and it wasn't as large because he lacked the stamina to make it so. But it would buy him a little time.

Harry knew he couldn't fight anymore. He was too weak and too tired. He just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up. The persistent scratching motivated him into moving away from the wall.

"Well, if I'm going to die from blood loss, I might as well put it to good use," he sighed, moving to get the book, which he tossed carelessly when he made it into the room.

He froze, staring at the page it had fallen open to. Maybe it was a sign—it couldn't have been a coincidence. Also, it seemed to be his only option left if he had any plans to survive. And surviving was one thing he needed to do. There was an entire world depending on him to save them, and as much as he hated the responsibility, he had agreed to take it on. He was not a man that went go back on his word.

Harry gulped, setting to work.

"Inuyasha's gunna kill me."

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Tiniest Chapter Yet (


	20. Imperfect but Operational

**Imperfect but Operational**

For the second time that day, Inuyasha found himself back in a large, white room that invoked feelings both majestic and haunting.

"Look, I have to go now!" Inuyasha said angrily at the five, white-robed and hooded beings before him. The tallest of them stepped forward and addressed him, keeping his face under the shadow of the hood.

"We cannot allow that. This is something he must pull through on his own."

"No, he needs me to get him out! He can't open a gate, he not a guardian yet!"

"He should never become one," the one on the far right said with a hint of jeer. The tall one raised a pacifying hand to stop Inuyasha's reply to that.

"You are well aware, Inuyasha, of how the council feels about a human guardian."

"Of course I am. It's the same way you felt when a half-breed took up the gate—and I have yet to disappoint."

"The key word being _yet_," the one on the right dropped again.

"Be that as it may," the tall one interjected loudly, "your purpose was not to make him a guardian, but to guide him in fulfilling the prophecy."

Inuyasha had nothing to say to that. The shortest one spoke next.

"He will survive, only Voldemort can kill him so you need not worry."

"You don't think I know that? But do you have any idea how badly he could hurt himself over there? At the very least he'll end up crippled!"

"You have other duties to attend to, young one," the last guardian stated, obviously female judging from the voice and figure. "He will return in due time...and through a forced opening; the same way he came to Hell. You simply need to wait for it."

Inuyasha stared at the elders in disbelief. They were knowingly preventing him from saving a human in Hell.

Finally releasing a frustrated snarl he stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The guardian on the right looked at the rest.

"You give him too much leeway," he accused, directing the criticism most specifically at the tallest. "He disregards the rules, never follows any of the standard procedures, and is disrespectful to his superiors."

The shortest one grinned beneath his hood.

"Well, I've always liked him. So much spunk."

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Harry leaned forward and moaned, splashing more blood onto the runic design, moving it around with pale and shaky fingers. The adrenaline had long since worn off and the pain of his injuries made itself well known. Add the sheer amount of blood he put into the ritual and Harry found himself at the brink of death.

The ritual proved to be every bit as complicated as it looked. In addition to his own, it required demon blood and, being in the desperate situation that he was in, he used the most convenient supply available—a mixture of different bloods of the demons he had been fighting.

It didn't help that, during the entire process, rubble from the low ceiling constantly rained down on him from the incessant attacks by the demons. His blood shield was not going to hold for much longer; it weakened along with him.

Harry hastened to finish the runic design as his meek protection took another hit. The pain had begun to recede as numbness took over, but this was simply a sign that his body would fail him at any moment. The shield was struck again, and again, and again, until—

**CRACK**

"Fuck..."

The ward came down, and with it an entire side of his hideaway. A demon had broken through the small opening with a massive swing of its hand. One of the claws—half the size of Harry's body—came inches from scraping his back. Harry spared the hideous, tree-sized demons behind him a glance, catching a brief glimpse of their hungry faces before turning back to his work.

In a last bout of strength, Harry slammed his hands on the center of the design, muttering the incantation in rapid Latin. The ritual was as complete as he hoped it needed to be and the circle was constructed a little crudely, but he was in no position to be explicit. Instead, he hoped against hope that he could finish the deed before the impending claws and teeth he knew were descending on him in that very moment struck home.

As if to answer his prayer, a blinding light suddenly encased him, sending the demons reeling back, roaring in a manner that suggested the light harmed them. Harry paid no attention to their plight; all he could focus on was the fresh pain that tore rampantly through his body. He could feel his insides twisting and his bones remolding. A searing heat shot from his cranium to the base of his spine, then spread outwards to curl every nerve ending within his body—a body that was changing.

At the same time, amidst all the agony of being reconstructed, Harry felt waves upon waves of power washing over his body. Power that was sucked from the demons around him, power that was his own, only enhanced. He knew, somehow, that this power was _his_ power.

It ended as quickly as it started, leaving Harry lying on the ground, gasping and shaking. He couldn't remember if he screamed during the process or not, but his throat felt raw. He lay there for several more moments, his mind feeling both stimulated and blank.

Eventually control returned to him and he pushed himself up from the ground, immediately noticing the difference in himself. Everything seemed to be on stereo. He could hear the heavy breathing of lone demon that survived, as well as the ground shifting under its toes as it began to pick itself back up again, still dazed from the light. He could smell the foulness that reeked from the torn and bloodied bodies littered about, the lingering stench of their putrid breath, each demon having its own distinct scent.

Harry smiled, feeling a small prick on his bottom lip and ran his tongue over two, sharp fangs.

'_I have fangs. Win.'_

He looked at his hands, still flesh colored, but also equipped with ten pointed claws, each itching to tear through demon flesh.

'_And claws. Double win_,' Harry thought with a growing grin not unlike a child before a candy store. '_I think it's time to test these puppies out._'

He faltered at the thought, thinking of what Inuyasha would say to him for his rash decision. He already had an array of excuses collected in the back of his mind for when that time came—the first and foremost being: _he was about to die_.

The demon nearby, towering at close to thirty feet tall, had fully recovered and charged. But its movements seemed slower than its inhuman speed before; Harry felt like he had more time to react.

He prepared to jump, feeling the new, stronger muscles tightening, and leapt forward, flying twenty feet clean into the air. Harry laughed as the rush of air whipped his hair around. He felt as though he were flying without a broom. He did a flip before landing on the skull of the demon. It roared and brought its hand up to swat Harry off. Harry responded by jumping off its head and landing gracefully on the ground by its feet. The demon ended up hitting itself on the head in a classic move of stupidity.

Harry laughed again, feeling the presence of a second demon coming up behind him—no doubt attracted by the bloodbath he had created. Harry turned and leapt at it, raising his clawed hand and bringing it down on the demon's shoulder, throwing out energy from the sharp tips on instinct and effectively tearing off the arm. He landed in a splatter of blood, loving it. Some part of him knew he shouldn't be, but his new, demon blood impaired his judgment like a drug the second the sent of blood reached his acute nose. The slight scent of fear coming off the demon only further excited him.

For the first time in his life, he felt free. He could protect himself; he could choose to do whatever he wanted.

A shrill call sounded from the distance and Harry knew more demons would come. He welcomed it.

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Well, it's not that long, sorry. I have a couple things in mind as to what Harry looks like now but there aren't any wings or dog ears (those are reserved for Inuyasha only! ;D), so sorry again. And we'll find out how much of a demon Harry really his soon.

I also don't know if Harry will eventually fix his relationship with his old friend, but he will be making new ones!

Thanks for the reviews! You guys rock my socks!


	21. Breaking Free

**Breaking Free**

The start of the school year began just like any other. Kids from year two through seven chattered noisily, waiting for their meal and anticipating the new housemates they would soon gain. A group of timid first years were lead through the main doors by Professor McGonagall, then sorted into the appropriate houses after the sorting hat recited another strange yet informative poem. Next came the start of the year feast, just as rich and satisfying as the years previous. And finally, the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, stood to make his annual speech.

"Welcome students, old and new, to another year," he began merrily. "I have a few announcements to make before we head off to bed. Firstly, I would like to remind all students that the forbidden forest is strictly that—forbidden. And a forest. Also, our caretaker, Argus Filch, would like me to remind you that the notice to which items are banned in the corridors will be posted in your common rooms, this now includes any product manufactured by Weasley Wizarding Weases," a number of groans were met by this, causing the headmaster to chuckle. "Furthermore, I would like to introduce two new teachers to our staff."

All heads turned towards the new additions at the teacher's table. One of them was a woman with a hooded cloak discerning her features. Professor Sprout, who was stuck sitting next to her, seemed rather weary of the seating arrangements. The other one had all the girls giggling and blushing since the moment they set foot through the door. He was young and handsome, with glittering violent eyes and dark, wavy hair that curled at the nape of his neck fell into his face.

"First I would like to introduce Professor Morgana Verchik," Dumbledore announced, "who will be taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

The woman gracefully removed her hood, emitting many gasps and a couple screams from the students...as well as some of teachers. Morgana's ivory skin gleamed in the candlelight and her long, black hair fell flawlessly down her back. Her eyes were as dark her hair and she had two white fangs that revealed themselves when she smiled. Somehow she managed to make a smile look unfriendly.

She was a vampire.

Dumbledore ignored the muttering around him and continued talking.

"I know that many of you have realized she is a vampire, but she has chosen to fight on the light side against Voldemort and will do you no harm. Now for our second teacher, replacing Professor Middleton, who is suffering from a rare form of amnesia and will not be able to continue to teach muggle studies, is Professor Inuyasha Nagasaki."

Inuyasha grinned winningly at everyone, causing many girls to sigh dreamily. But while he played it cool on the outside, on the inside he was a nervous wreck. All because of one person sitting three seats down from him. Someone who he knew was going to slap him when she had the chance.

The light smile on Dumbledore's face released itself as he prepared to deliver a crushing blow to the students and faculty who had not already been informed. Come tomorrow, he knew what he had tried to keep quiet would be all over the Prophet.

"I have one, last announcement before we move on to our. I did not want to burden you with this and ruin your meals. If you were to look around you, you will notice that one of our number has not returned to us this term," a movement of head rippled over the student body; several had already noticed the absence of one noteworthy individual.

"I regret to inform you that, as of three weeks ago, after an attack on his residence, Harry Potter went missing," gasps and whispers broke out. Dumbledore paused for a moment before continuing, "Very little detail has been brought to light on the matter, but our best speculations point to the possibility that he may have been dragged into the depths of Hell. As this is the most likely case considering the circumstances around his disappearance, the chances of his survival are minimal at best."

Cries rang out around the tables as many students and faculty alike tried to register the fact that their savior, the Boy-Who-Lived, could be dead. Some cried: Cho Chang had her hands around her mouth, her eyes blinking back the gathering tears. Colin Creevy stared at the camera in his lap, absolutely crushed. Professor Spout comforted a blubbering Professor Flitwick.

Professor Trelawney did her best to appear unsurprised.

Many now had fixated their attention on the remaining members of the golden trio, both of whom had their heads bowed. Hermione had bitten her oddly quivering lip, willing herself not to break down in front of the school and Ron sent around a hard look, as though daring anyone to speak. His eyes lingered on the Slytherin table where many looked gleeful, particularly one smug Draco Malfoy.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain the attention of his audience.

"I am sorry for having to burden you with such devastating news to you at such a crucial time in this world; for the war has begun and the light side has lost an important figurehead. I hope this will only serve to inspire you to fight for the light in this brewing turmoil, and avenge Mr. Potter."

'_Yeah,'_ Inuyasha thought flatly, keeping his face neutral. _'He'll need to be avenged after I kill him.'_

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Harry sighed as he glanced aimlessly about the barren land. He had been there for weeks—fighting demons, scrounging for food and water (though he often found demon meat to be the most acceptable source of nutrition), reading the book, and adapting to his new body.

His greatest relief came from knowing that this body wasn't too different from his human one—shape-wise that is. He had yet to find a mirror so he did not know his exact appearance, but he could already tell he wasn't completely demon. The transformation must have gone wrong—which wasn't surprising to him given the circumstance he was in—but he knew it could have gone much, much worse. His dumb-luck came through for him once again. McGonagall owed him another five points.

Nevertheless, the comforting power he felt swirling within his body assured him that he would never have to take crap from anyone ever again. Every demon he had defeated down there had been full-blooded demons. Most were more powerful than the ones he encountered in the human realm thanks to the enabling environment. If there were ever a situation that would give him the opportunity to get used to his new body quick—this was it.

Harry yawned and stretched out on a rock. Opportunities aside, he was completely and utterly bored. He defeated just about every demon within a five-mile radius from where he currently lay and refused to wander any farther incase another rift opened up to give him a free pass into the human world. This train of thought always got Harry thinking.

He had been under the impression that only the guardians of the gates of Hell could break the barrier separating the two. If that were the case, then why would one of them open it right where his house was? Unless something else caused the rift to appear. That led him to believe that he could possibly open the rift himself, which had him searching through the book for anything that could get him out of there. So far there was no such luck, and every time he convinced himself that he simply missed something, he would come back up empty.

His thoughts were interrupted by a distinct and foul odor that left an eerie tang in the air, alerting Harry of the demon's presence long before it spoke.

"Kukuku. Well, well...what do we have here?"

Harry released another, loud yawn and rolled onto his stomach to look at his new prey. He almost fell off the rock in shock. Before him was what looked like a human—the first humanoid demon he had met yet. The "man" had long, crimped, black hair, malevolent red eyes, and, frighteningly enough, bluish eye shadow. Draped around his shoulders and pooling at his feet was a white baboon pellet.

"I had heard there was someone or something in this area causing a disturbance, killing off anything that had gotten near it. But this is a surprise..." he spoke again with a chilling voice.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Harry snarled, lifting himself cautiously off of the rock. There was something about this demon that was really off. It may have been because he looked so human, or because he was wearing make up. He wasn't sure...

"You're not even a half demon. This, of course, leaves me wondering...what _are_ you doing in Hell?"

"None of your damn business," He said shortly. "What the hell do you want?"

The demon tisked, "So crude. This is the where the barrier is weakest. I am in search of something. I suggest you leave or I will be forced to kill you."

Harry snorted but didn't doubt his words. Instead he stayed put, sitting cross-legged on the rock.

"Do what you want, I wont stop you." Harry had a sneaking suspicion that this was the demon responsible for the breach in the barrier last time.

The demon ignored him and stared up at the murky-red sky.

"It is near," he whispered. "I can feel it. It must be _HERE!_"

And as he yelled the last word he thrust his hands in the air, his fingers spreading towards the sky. Lighting flashed all around them and the clouds began to swirl, the eye forming directly above the demon. As the winds picked up Harry grabbed the book to keep it from being sucked into the forming vortex. The demon now had a crazed look on his face as the clouds swirled faster and faster, dispersing outward. A patch of blue appeared in the mass of red and it began to broaden. Warm, friendly air hit Harry in the face—human air. Harry grinned; this was his ticket home.

He stood, brushing off the seat of his pants and grabbing his book. The jump would be easy enough for him make. Unfortunately, his movement reminded the demon of his presence, who looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"What are..._you!_" he growled, abandoning his activity and turning to face Harry.

"Hey, don't mind me," Harry said nervously, lifting a peaceful hand. "I just need to borrow your hole for a minute."

He tried to move around the demon but the man blocked his path, those sinister, red eyes transfixed on the book. Harry knew that couldn't be good.

"You have it," the demon said softly, reaching for the leather cover. "You've had it the whole time..."

Harry back away only to have the demon step closer.

"Hey, back off asshole," Harry bared his fangs and growled loudly, warning the thing to stay away from him.

"Don't presume to threaten me, half-breed," the demon snarled back. He lifted an arm, which exploded into multiple branching tentacles. Harry leapt in the air, dodging the rocketing appendages left and right, hacking them to pieces with his free clawed-hand. As effortless as it was, Harry soon learned that no matter how hard he tore the tentacles apart they would only regroup and form again.

Snarling in frustration, Harry attacked the main body, using his unnatural speed and lithe, agile body to doge the limbs. The demon's eyes widened at Harry's sudden travels. Harry lifted back a clawed hand, the nail lengthening two inches of in readiness for the strike, and brought it down on his aggressor, managing to tear the baboon pelt from his body but no more. The creature's youki was strongly protecting it. The demon was now left in nothing but a pair of loose pants. Before Harry could make any more attacks, a cloud of purple smoke erupted around the man, sending Harry staggering backwards, in hacking coughs. He looked back at the rift to find it closing back up.

Without an actual guardian monitoring the breach, the opening could not sustain itself.

Harry knew he couldn't win against the demon as more tentacles were launched at him. He dodged them and ran in the opposite direction, towards his escape.

"No!" the demon cried, shoot even more tentacles at him at an accelerated pace as Harry leapt towards the rapidly closing portal. He hugged the book to his body with one hand while the other dug his claws into his palm, drawing blood. He flung his palm outward, sending what looked like spears of blood raining down on the tentacles, ripping them apart and sending the demon flying backwards. The last thing Harry saw before exiting Hell was the demon screaming in rage, pounding his fist on the ground, and a spider-shaped scar on its back.

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Guess who's back…back again? Naraku's back, tell a friend. Heck yes!

I got some very good ideas for what Harry should look like from many of you—and don't fret if you think he doesn't look like much now. Appearances can be deceiving. He has a few tricks he's going to discover.

Well, I'm v. v. tired so tootles.

Thanks for the reviews!


	22. Deserving

**Deserved**

Inuyasha walked down the near-empty corridor to his new quarters. Against his superiors'—and this was thought with severe sarcasm—orders, he had decided to get a job at Hogwarts to keep and eye on Harry as well as Dumbledore. The elders believed he was interfering too much, to which he told them to shut the hell up. He was mad enough that they stopped him from protecting Harry.

In reality, he was looking forward to the job. Maintaining a human appearance was a piece of cake for him at this age and he happened it find it quite refreshing to be in a position that deals with the molding (and corrupting) of vulnerable, young minds. What he hadn't counted on was _her_ showing up, the woman who now stood before him with a loathsome expression on her face.

"Morgana," he greeted cheerfully to the undead beauty as she approached. "Never thought I'd see you among the living again."

A sharp slap to the face was the response he received, which he accepted admirably, feeling that it was justly deserved.

"Well, you do know how I like to surprise," she said lowly, seeming satisfied after her small vent.

"Of course," he said rubbing his sore cheek in good-humor. "So what brings you to Hogwarts?"

"I was planning on asking you the same thing."

"Were you? Before or after you assaulted me?"

"Well, you deserved it—"

"I agree."

"—After leaving me for some human bitch."

"If it's any consolation we're divorced."

Morgana froze for a moment, keeping her expression neutral and making it impossible for Inuyasha to determine her feelings on the matter. Then again she never showed much emotion to begin with.

"Well, I bet you wish you stuck with me now," she said haughtily and turned, walking back to her chambers in the dungeons. Inuyasha grinned at her retreating form, pleased that she hadn't changed at all since he had last seen her.

"Perhaps."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Harry blinked as the first rays of true sunlight in about a month shone down on him; he welcomed the heat that radiated into his skin. He looked around to find he was back in Surrey, in the same exact spot where he left, only now he found himself surrounded by machinery, bulldozers and the like, which were obviously there to tear down the rest of the house. Fortunately, the workers must have been on their lunch break because he could not sense anyone nearby who may have witnessed his return.

Harry did a quick check to make sure no one was watching before jumping up into what almost resembled his old bedroom. Only half the room was left intact, and, thankfully, his trunk and personal belongings were relatively undamaged.

Taking care of the most important matter at hand first, Harry pulled out his cell phone and called Inuyasha.

"Yeah?" came the short reply on the other line.

"Hey," Harry said. It was all he needed to say. After a sharp intake of breath the line went dead and Harry knew that Inuyasha would be there soon. In the meantime, he _had_ to see what he looked like. He climbed over piles of rubble to the dresser where there was a cracked mirror on the inside door.

He started, goggling at the stranger who goggled back at him. He was easy to recognize as himself and yet it was so strange seeing something that was obviously not human looking back at him.

His eyes were what caught his attention first. They glowed an, ironically, avada kedavra green and had the same cat-slit pupils Inuyasha's had, except silver instead of the usual black. His ears were now pointed at the tips, though the earrings still fit nicely on them. And, of course, his fangs were there, very similar to Inuyasha's, thicker than the rest of his teeth and poking out from beneath his top lip unless he consciously tried to cover them. His claws were also like an Inu's, in both length and might. He had silver markings on his face: two thin strips on each corner of his jaw that peaked at the curve of his cheekbone.

His hair was still black and messy, but now had several sparse streaks of silver. Not the kind that came with age; a sparkling, youthful sliver that glistered with the right light.

He gave a small sniff to the air and could smell Inuyasha's familiar and comforting spiced scent. He turned away from the mirror at the sound of crunching rubble under boots. Inuyasha caught his eye and froze.

"Oh-oh God. Aw shit...Fuck!" Inuyasha swore, looking at Harry with faint despondency.

"I missed you so Harry, I'm so glad you're alive," Harry supplied for him.

"You—you—"

"I know, I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry, but I had no choice! I was going to _die!_" Harry tried to justify as Inuyasha started to pace in front of him.

Inuyasha continued to stare at him as he moved, eyebrows curved in disbelief, his head shaking and jaw twitching as if trying to find the right words.

"Die," Harry repeated once more, just to get his point across. "As in dead."

"I know, I know," Inuyasha said calmingly, more to himself. He stopped his pacing and leaned in to sniff Harry. A month ago this would have freaked the boy out, but now, after experiencing just how much a demon relied on his nose, he didn't mind so much.

"How badly did I fuck it up?" Harry asked with a slight grimace. Inuyasha leaned back with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Do me a favor and cast a concealment spell on yourself, will ya?" he asked.

"What?"

"A glamour charm—something to make you look human."

"Ok..." Harry said as he pulled out his wand and twirled it at himself, whispering the incantation and picturing what he thought he used to look like. He felt his skin tingle as the spell took effect and saw Inuyasha relax visibly out of the corner of his eye.

"Why?" Harry asked, glancing at himself in the mirror to make sure he looked right. "What's going on?"

Inuyasha gave a relieved laughed, "Fortunately for you, you're not even half demon. In fact, judging from your scent, you're just a few ounces of blood off from being one. Talk about luck."

Harry didn't share his enthusiasm.

"And why is that a good thing? Aren't I weaker now?"

"Because...you were a few drops away from losing your ability to perform magic."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Morgana is _not_ Kagome—she is just an old flame of Inu Yasha's. We will not be seeing Kags for a while.


	23. The Symbolism of Scars

**The Symbolism of Scars**

"W-what?" Harry stammered, positive he had heard wrong. Inuyasha nodded candidly.

"Indeedy."

"Uh, heh, mind explaining this to me?"

"Well," Inuyasha began, sitting on what was left of Harry's bed. Harry followed the suit, knowing it would be another winded explanation. "Every being has a multitude of spiritual energy and/or magical energy. Humans in particular are meant to be born with a natural balance of spiritual and magical energies because the two forces will cancel each other out. Witches and wizards are humans who are unbalanced in favor of magical energy and have the ability to manipulate it. Priests and Priestesses are the opposite and have an overbalance of excess spiritual energy in their aura. This is what makes them so dangerous to demons, which are spiritual beings; they can manipulate a demon's energy and use it against them.

"Demons are a bit different. While they are spiritual beings, they have magical energy of their own that lies separate rather than mixing. It is unlike human magic and tainted by their own demonic essence, which incidentally makes human magic nearly useless against it."

"Their youki," Harry labeled.

Inuyasha nodded, "As I said before, had you brought too much spiritual energy to your core from the ritual, you could have canceled out your magical energy completely, leaving you as balanced as a muggle."

Harry gulped. Had he known his magic was at stake, he would have thought more about performing the ritual.

Or perhaps not.

"How do you know all this?"

Inuyasha hesitated for a split second before answering. This told Harry that he would not get a complete answer out of him as of yet.

"We won't get into my family history but I guess you could say I have the uh...magical gene."

Harry felt his heart skip a beat and stared at Inuyasha as though he had just met him.

"You—? You're a wizard?"

Inuyasha shook his head, "Nah, I can't be called that. Too much demon blood in me. But I can still see things as wizards do. Hadn't you ever wondered how I got the Book if I said I got it out of Hogwarts?"

Harry felt himself blush as he shook his head negatively. In truth he hadn't given any thought as to how a seemingly normal demon got through the wards surrounding the castle. He had grown far too accustomed to accepting anything Inuyasha told him.

"Well what matters is that your magical energy still dominates within you," Inuyasha leaned forward and sniffed Harry once more. "Though it was a close call. You smell very much like a half-demon."

A sudden, suspicious look passed over Inuyasha's face as he sniffed a third time. He stopped and sniffed Harry again. A low growl emitted from his throat as he lifted himself off of the bed and took a few steady steps away from Harry. Harry stared at him bewildered.

"Inuyasha—"

"Who did you see down there?" Inuyasha asked evenly, his voice low and dangerous. Harry had never been given any reason to fear Inuyasha before, but now, with his threatening and readied posture, Harry felt a little frightened.

"I told you—lots of demons."

"Did any stand out to you?"

"Well...maybe the last one. He attacked me when he saw the book. Oh! And he was the one who opened the barrier! I think he did it last time too."

"What did he look like?"

"Very human-like, actually. He had black hair and was wearing a baboon pellet...ught! And he was wearing make up. Dodgy if you ask me."

Inuyasha rubbed a hand down his face, looking extremely weary.

"Anything else?" he asked, even though he already knew who it was.

"Well...when we were fighting I tore through his creepy pellet and he had this scar on his back. It was sick. It sort of resembled a spider...it's hard to explain because it looked like...that..."

Harry felt his jaw drop as he stared at Inuyasha's back. The half demon had pulled his shirt overhead as Harry talked and the boy suddenly found himself facing an exact replica of the scar he saw hours before, imprinted in the center of an otherwise flawless back.

"W-what...but how—?"

"A parting gift," Inuyasha explained softly, pulling his shirt back on. "From Naraku, the demon you just encountered."

"Naraku? But isn't that the demon you..."

Inuyasha nodded, "Be thankful you're alive."

Harry sat back down on the broken bed, unsure when he had stood up in the first place. He felt a bitter half-smile creep up on his face as he finally understood what Inuyasha had meant all those times he said they were more alike than he could ever know. He knew now. Not only were they leading similar lives, but their destinies seemed to follow similar paths as well. He learned about something like this in divination once. Some souls were reincarnated when a destiny was left unfinished, but then there was what was known as _parallel souls_—souls that follow almost identical paths in completely different scenarios and settings.

Perhaps that was what he and Inuyasha were—parallel souls. Both were marked by their greatest enemy...fighting for people who don't truly care about them, who wouldn't take the time to understand them, to recognize them as people, fighting for a peace that seemed impossible. They were destined to uphold a battle that would follow them for the rest of their years, both warriors, both martyrs.

"Inuyasha," Harry said softly. "Why did you choose me?"

Inuyasha looked at him questioningly.

"How did you know I could use blood magic? Why did you just leave the Book on my bed for me to find? How did you know?"

Inuyasha bit the corner of his lip, casting his eyes downward. He knew it was time to tell Harry the rest of the truth.

"I knew the prophecy before I met you," he started.

"I figured," Harry responded dryly.

"I knew it four hundred and eighteen years ago."

Harry looked up to meet Inuyasha's eyes, startled.

"That's impossible," Harry said slowly, "It was only made sixteen years ago."

"No," Inuyasha said, "It was released into the human world sixteen years ago. But all prophecies are predestined and planned out by the PTB."

"The what?"

"The Powers that Be...you know...the guys upstairs," he pointed to the sky.

"Oh...you mean, like, God?"

"They're right below God actually—or whatever humans perceive as God. And all guardians to the gates of Hell are direct, uh, _employers_ of them."

"So they're like your bosses?" at Inuyasha's nod, Harry whistled. Inuyasha was higher up in the food chain than he originally suspected.

"So when you became a guardian, you found out the prophecy?"

"Nope, I didn't become a guardian until the last two hundred years of my life actually. It was the moment I touched this book," he pointed to the Book cradled in Harry's arms, "that I found out. They summoned me to a meeting and explained that it was _my_ destiny to help you with yours."

Harry grinned, "So we really must be parallel souls after all."

"Huh?"

Harry waved him off, "Never mind, I'll tell you later. Tell me more about what they wanted you to do."

"Nothing much more than that. I was the only true being at the time with the ability to use blood magic so I was told to master the art and just wait around for a few centuries until you came along so I could guide you. Though they didn't give me an exact date or any coordinates. The last few decades had me trying to keep track of every Harry Potter that existed. Let me tell you—your parents were _not_ original when it came to naming you."

Harry snorted, finding no argument there and asked, "Do _they_ interfere like this with every prophecy?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "I don't think so. This was a pretty serious prophecy compared to most. Voldemort coming to power would greatly upset to balance of light and darkness in the universe, especially with his carelessness in dabbling in the dark arts. Obviously the PTB decided to take matters into their own hands. They knew your ability ahead of time and knew I was the only one who could help you. End of story."

"Pretty deep," Harry said, still reeling from all the information he gained in the last half-hour.

"Alright, time to get to school..." Inuyasha said, standing up and brushing off his pants.

"Awww…" Harry whined, falling back onto the bed. "Do I have to? That guy that I'm still mad at is there. And he still has Hedwig."

"Your bird is fine, she's in the owlry. Now get your lazy, freak ass up and lets go. You need an education."

"Who you calling a freak, freak?" Harry asked with a mean smile, lifting himself to his feet, "And what about the demons? How will I fight them if I'm stuck in that prison? Dumbledore's going to have me watched implicitly, I just know it."

The thought of being around so many humans for so long was making Harry unusually uncomfortable. He was struck with a sudden feeling that putting himself in such a situation would not end well.

"Don't worry, they'll come to you," Inuyasha said. "Trust me."

Harry snorted at that last comment, moving about to shrink what he could find of his possessions before freezing, "Hang on...how did you know that Hedwig is in the owlry...?"

Inuyasha looked around, before flashing him an impish smile and leaping out of the ruined house, laughing as he bounded from rooftop to rooftop, impalpable to the human eye.

Harry growled, his eyes flashing an incandescent color at the challenge, and bounded after his superior. It was an amazing and exhilarating experience—jumping with almost no gravity, the wind whipping his hair as if he were on a broom—one he would never get tired of. The balls of his feet barley made contact with the tiles of the rooftops before he was airborne again. To his excitement he was quickly gaining on his mentor, though whether it was because Inuyasha was letting him or personal skill he had yet to find out.

Soon Harry was sprinting next to Inuyasha and the man's shocked face was enough to confirm it was the former.

"Holy, fucking shit. How the hell did you catch up so fast?" Inuyasha yelled against the wind. Harry just grinned and sped up, flying past Inuyasha. Rather than getting mad, Inuyasha laughed and followed the boy. The two flew over towns, using houses and cars as fleeting landing pads and push-offs. They passed over forests and plains until a looming, but welcoming castle materialized in the distance.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Heck yes. The spiritual/magical energy thing might have been a bit confusing for some of you—just another wild theory I threw in there. Sorry, no crazy reactions this chapter...just some Inu/Harry bonding.

Now Harry must return from the dead. Officially.


	24. Officially Undead

**Officially Undead**

Harry was mere meters from crossing the wards surrounding the castle when a silver blur shot past him in an unexpected burst of speed and crossed over first, landing swiftly on other side.

"I win!" Inuyasha grinned, fist pumping. Harry landed next to him looking bewildered.

"Hey! You were holding out on me!" he accused.

"Not really, I just prefer not to travel that fast."

"It's the same thing," Harry deadpanned.

"About face and march," the half-demon's responded, moseying past Harry and towards the castle. Harry stood his ground for a few seconds before doing so, spending that time blinking and, once again, seriously doubting his mentor's sanity.

By the time he caught up to Inuyasha the man had changed his appearance to human.

"Are you going in the castle?" he asked.

"Yup."

"Uh...ok. why?"

"I like the architecture."

"No really, why?"

"I think you should know," Inuyasha said as they approached the doors, ignoring Harry's question altogether, "that everyone pretty much thinks you're dead."

Harry stopped short.

"What!?"

"Yeah—Dumbledore basically assumed that was the case and announced it to everyone."

Harry moaned and moved a hand over his eyes, "And here I was hoping to get away with 'I missed the train' again."

"You could still try that..." Inuyasha said thoughtfully.

"Inuyasha..."

"Oh, who the hell cares what they think! It's lunchtime anyways and—damn boy, you need a shower!"

Harry furrowed his brow and glanced down at himself, finally noticing the clothes he had been in for nearly the last month were torn, bloody, and oily. His personal scent was stronger than what he knew to be usual, mixed unpleasantly with the strong odor of sweat, grime, and demon blood. He must have gotten too accustomed to it over his vacation in Hell.

"Climb the wall, take a shower, and then walk around like you own the place."

"But I'm hungry," Harry pouted.

"So stop at the kitchens, bitch. Now go."

Not bothering to wonder why he was listening to Inuyasha in the first place, Harry turned tail and began leaping from windowsill to windowsill, hoping he was moving too fast for anyone to notice him, before he finally landed on what he knew to be the ledge of the Gryffindor sixth year dormitory. Luckily, due to the warm day, the window was slightly ajar and Harry was able to squeeze in without triggering any wards that might have been set in place. He stood and looked around the once vacant room. It pretty much resembled his dormitory last year except for one bed, which lay completely untouched with no possessions littered around it like the others were.

Smiling, Harry took out his trunk and un-shrunk it, placing it at the foot of his bed like usual. He then took out a fresh set of clothes, some toiletries, and headed off to the showers.

The shower took approximately a half an hour, due to the washing and re-washing of his body and hair—though the chemicals in the soap burned his nose they did their job. He noticed, while he was in there, that he had a few more silver stripes on his body than he realized: the side of each hipbone was marked with the sharp lines, as well as three horizontal strips on each side of his torso.

After he showered, changed, and checked that the glamour charm was still in place he decided to go down to the kitchens to eat. His trek down the hallways had him as distracted as a first year. He was suddenly seeing the castle in a whole new light. He could sense her as a being now, a sentiment being with so much energy and activity within her walls...energy that had nothing to do with the humans that inhabited her. It made him feel warm, the knowledge that, despite how isolated he anticipated feeling around so many humans—and he had accepted that he had essentially constructed a barrier between him and his former race—he would never be alone.

This new and undulated stimulation he discovered at every turn left him sufficiently distracted enough to not notice the oncoming group of girls in time to avoid them.

The girls and their giggling stopped the moment they spotted him, confusion and then alarm dawning on their faces. Steeling his nerves, Harry kept his face forward and continued walking, doing his best to ignore their stares. He only just recognized Marietta Edgecombe as part of the group and idly wondered how she got the "sneak" off her face.

"Excuse me ladies," he said as pleasantly as he could. They parted silently, still gawking at his as though they had seen a ghost. He rounded the corner at the end of the hall and the second he left their eyesight a flurry of girlish screams echoed throughout the corridors.

'_Talk about a delayed reaction,_' Harry thought laughing. He ran to the portrait he needed, tickled the pear, and entered the kitchen before any of the girls caught up with him. Before he could turn around, something tackled his legs, almost knocking him clean off his feet.

"Mister Harry Potter sir has returned! Dobby knew he was not dead, sir, Dobby knew it! He did! Dobby knew the good and great Harry Potter would return and fight the bad wizards!" the fidgety house elf squealed into Harry's knees.

"Yeah, okay, okay" Harry grumbled, not liking the prickly smell house elves gave off. The kitchen was simply filled with it. He forcibly pulled the over-affectionate terror off his person.

"Mister Harry Potter sir must be very hungry. Dobby knows this because Mister Harry Potter sir's tummy is saying so."

Harry blushed and put a hand on his stomach, willing it to shut up.

"Yeah a bit," he admitted. Dobby looked positively gleeful.

"What is Mister Harry Potter sir wanting? He is having anything he is wanting!"

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Er...do you have ramen?"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

The great hall bustled with its gusto for a Thursday afternoon lunch. Everyone dined with splendid conversation, preparing for their next classes, when the doors to the great hall opened with a bang.

A group of hysterical, seventh year, Ravenclaw girls burst forth, unintelligible blather slipping forth along with them.

"He's back, he's back! He's alive!"

"The hall—he was right there walking towards us!"

"Good Merlin, he's gotten fit!"

The teachers stood, only catching snippets of what the girls were screaming.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore cried, sending the girls into silence along with everyone else in the room. "Now, what is the matter, young ladies? Who is back?"

"Harry Potter—," Marietta managed to get out before the room erupted once more. Dumbledore held up a shaky hand for silence, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Miss Edgecombe, explain yourself."

"I—we—saw him, walking in the hall. He was there! And then he walked away and we couldn't find him. But he was really there!"

The other girls were all nodding in agreement to her story. Dumbledore looked at them sternly.

"That is not possible, my dear. It appears that someone has played a foul and uncalled for prank on you. Harry potter is—"

"Albus!" McGonagall gasped, pointing straight ahead. Dumbledore followed her direction and stiffened, eyes wide. Snape's jaw fell open in a most un-Slytherin manner. Flitwick dropped his fork. Morgana raised an eyebrow. Inuyasha snorted into his food. Every student head in the great hall turned to look at one Harry James Potter, standing casually in the open doorway of the great hall languidly petting a purring Mrs. Norris.

"...Dead?" he finished helpfully, his voice echoing throughout the silent dining area.

He had a choice of going to Dumbledore first and having the man announce his return, a cause for a padded integration. Or, he had the choice of revealing himself at one moment to everyone and getting it out of the way. He didn't much fancy wasting time sticking to the shadows and trying to avoid the stares, so he chose his second option, figuring Inuyasha would get a kick out of it at the very least.

Now he remembered why he didn't like abrupt attention.

Pandemonium erupted as his word snapped them out of their stupor. Children began screaming cries of 'ghost!' or 'imposter', teachers made vain attempts at gaining control of the situation while staring disbelievingly at the boy they all believed to be dead for the last month. Some students, the closer friends of Harry, tried running towards him, whether to harm or hug him, he did not know. Nor did he want to find out.

Swearing and dropping the purring pussy, he turned around and ran straight out the double doors, turning down the first corridor he came across. Some students, namely his friends from Gryffindor, followed him. The rest stayed where they were or ran back to their common rooms or to the owlry to spread the news.

Morgana remained in her seat, letting the humans deal with their own problems. She looked over to her former lover to see him snickering into his plate like a common teenager.

"You knew something about this didn't you?" It wasn't a question, more like a statement. Inuyasha schooled his face to be one of utter shock.

"How could you even think of accusing me of keeping things from the most respected and psychotic wizards of our time?"

He gestured to the tall form of Dumbledore sweeping through the mass of students and out of the Hall.

Morgana said nothing but continued to stare at him with those unblinking black irises.

"Alright, I might have known something," he admitted without shame. "But seriously, the whole cat thing...now _that_ caught me off guard."

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o

As I was redoing the scene where Harry announces his presence I was listening to this jazzy tune...and realized it was the theme song from Dirty Harry.


	25. Teacher

**Teacher**

Harry ended up leading the school on a giant manhunt, and most of his hunters were those who believed Harry to be an imposter death eater, which gave him little incentive to get "captured". He may have felt bad for stringing a bunch of kids along if he didn't have so much fun doing it. He considered this his revenge on the student body as a whole for being a giant mass of complete asshole last year.

Though the searched continued for over an hour, Harry had ditched everyone long before and took refuge in the headmaster's office. He didn't want to see the man—the thought of what Dumbledore did that summer still irked him—but didn't have much of a choice if he were to get back on schedule.

Harry sat in a comfy chair and waited; mildly disappointed that Fawkes wasn't in the room to keep him company. Thankfully, the wait was a short one as twenty minutes later Albus Dumbledore strolled into his office, glancing at Harry, unsurprised, before taking a seat at his desk and steepling his fingers.

Harry had to give credit where it was due; Dumbledore was the very definition of poise.

"I am most curious as to how my gargoyles managed to end up littered about the hall with a gaping hole in the wall exposing my staircase."

Harry gave a sheepish grin, "Aren't you just glad I'm alive?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in response to this.

"Indeed. Lemon drop, Harry?"

"Seriously?"

"I thought not. Now tell me, where have you been?"

Harry decided to humor the man, figuring beforehand that it would be good to stay in Dumbledore's good books for now. He told the headmaster a very edited account of what happened. He confirmed falling into Hell, claiming he had to fight off a few demons using magic and then escaped through a rift between the barriers.

Dumbledore accepted the answer, knowing it wasn't the whole truth but not pressing further.

"You don't know how fortunate you are to have fallen in such a low populated area in Hell," the older wizard informed him. Harry just shrugged, fighting down a smirk.

Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands.

"You may come in now," he called to his door. It slowly creaked open, and revealed every guilty face of the Hogwarts staff."

"Albus, it is really him?" Professor Sprout asked from the front of the group.

"Yes, it's really him," Harry answered instead, annoyed that he would be talked about while he stood _right there_. The teachers immediately tried to bombard him with questions, which Dumbledore quickly quelled.

"This is not the time, you have heard enough through your eavesdropping. Harry has a potions class to get to in twenty minutes, if we are to get him back on schedule, and school supplies which I'm sure he still needs to purchase."

"I'm not taking potions," Harry said hurriedly.

"Harry, I assure you that your grade does not matter and that it is all worked out—," Dumbledore started before Harry cut him off.

"It has nothing to do with grades," he said. He turned to McGonagall with an apologetic look. "But as I no longer wish to be an auror, I just have no use for potions."

That seemed to strike a cord with Snape, "Why you ignorant, ungrateful—,"

"Very well," Dumbledore said loudly, cutting off the man from a very repeated tirade. "If that is the choice Harry has made then we will respect it. Harry, you will receive your new schedule tomorrow morning at breakfast. Oh, and one more thing, I'd like you to meet two new additions to the staff. Professor Verchik will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor..."

Harry looked at the indicated woman standing in the back, pale and cold, and knew instantly that she was a vampire.

"...And Professor Nagasaki will be teaching muggle studies, which should not concern you."

Oh, but it concerned him very much. Harry glanced over and noticed Inuyasha wink at him from his place besides the vampire. That man had a lot of explaining to do.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Dumbledore confirmed Harry's reappearance during dinner that evening, reassuring many of the students that he was not an imposter. In response to this, many of the student's felt that they had to go and personally welcome Harry back. Harry was overwhelmed with the sounds and smells from the reception and by the end of the meal was hard pressed not to throw off the glamour charm and claw everyone who came within a ten-foot radius of him.

Apparently he managed to find a good, mean look that got people to back off, because for the last several minutes he had been left alone in peace, able to finish his dinner, aside from the incessant questions Hermione bombarded him with regarding his whereabouts and Ron repeatedly asking if he saw any demons.

Harry responded distractedly, telling them he would explain later when there were less people around. His attention mostly stayed on the teacher's table as he watched Inuyasha try to woo the stoic vampires. The woman appeared determined not to give into his flirtations and Harry figured she was probably the only one in the school who wouldn't go weak at the knees in front of Inuyasha. Inuyasha was probably the only man with the balls to openly hit on her.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"Hey Harry, were you really in Hell?" Seamus asked keenly once the five boys were back in the privacy of their dorm. Dean sat up straighter on his bed and Ron looked up from his quidditch book, both wondering the same thing. Even Neville, who busied himself with qietly putting away his robes into his trunk, listened.

"Yeah," Harry said, shaking out his pajama bottoms. He knew he couldn't evade the questions forever. Especially from his dorm mates.

"So...what was it like?" Dean asked, "Did you see any demons?"

"It was very dull and boring, nothing but rocks. And I saw lots of demons."

"How can you see lots of demons and be bored?" asked Ron, who sat cross-legged on his bed, book pushed to the side. Apparently he had forgiven Harry for being an ass on his birthday—though much of that forgiveness likely came from having everything put into perspective when he thought Harry was dead.

Harry, on the other hand, had yet to forgive Ron and his other friends for what he felt was betraying him to Dumbledore. He decided to play it cool for now and not mention anything; the last thing he needed was unnecessary drama.

"With my life, demons will not bring much excitement," Harry stated, pulling off his shirt and hopping into bed. Even with their window open, the September air was still on the warm side.

"Merlin's balls!" Neville exclaimed. Every occupant of the room turned and stared at the usually reserved boy, who began to turn pink with embarrassment.

"Well look at his bloody tattoos!" he said pointing at Harry to remove the attention from himself. Harry groaned, realizing that he probably should not have added the tattoos to the glamour. He hadn't given it much thought when he applied the charm; he only focused on what he looked like before the transformation.

"Nice Harry!" Seamus said appreciatively with a nod towards Harry's arm. He could recognize what the Ankh was.

"Does Hermione know?" Ron asked, looking at the Seal of Cagliostro with interest.

"No, and let's keep it that way. She'll tell your mother, and that's a howler for me."

Ron grinned at him, "blackmail."

Harry chose not to respond to that and instead opted for some answers for himself.

"So tell me about the new teachers," he said, grabbing a light tank top to sleep in.

"Professor Verchik is hot, but she's a vampire, which is kind of a turn off. She's a really good teacher, though. Very fair." Dean said after pulling his own pajama shirt over his head.

"Yeah," Seamus agreed. "And Professor Nagasaki is cool too. I don't have him or anything, but from what Lavender told me he's really insightful and funny."

Harry stared at him, "Since when did Lavender take muggle studies? Isn't she muggle born?"

"Since Professor Nagasaki showed up," Ron answered with something akin to disgust, "Ever since he was first introduced at the start of the school year, a lot of girls dropped their subjects to join Muggle studies. Parvati and Ginny did it too. Hermione almost did, but I stopped her."

Harry had to stifle a laugh at the thought of Hermione swooning over Inuyasha like a rabid fan girl. The very thought was just so out of character for the bookworm that he almost wished it were true.

"Hey, at least it's helping to build, er, muggle awareness," Harry ventured, trying to find a bright side to it. Dean and Seamus snickered.

"Oh yeah, they're aware all right," Neville muttered. "But something tells me its not from listening."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o


	26. Payments and Projects

**Payment and Projects**

Inuyasha sat atop his desk, swinging his legs back and forth in child in youthful pendulum as his fourth year class filed in. The girls immediately claimed their seats up front while boys lounged in the back, just how it had been for the entire semester.

"Morning niños."

"Good morning, Señor."

Inuyasha bit his bottom lip and grinned. He never got tired of hearing the response he accustomed them to relay.

He stood up from his desk and began pacing in front of it, well aware that the eyes of the front row girls were fixated on his butt.

"I have a question for all of you, and we're going to take a vote. This isn't meant to offend anyone; it's purely objective. Humanity on the whole...who's the freak of nature—magical humans, or muggle humans?"

The class remained silent as they contemplated the question, trying to keep from looking confused. Inuyasha had to bite his cheek to keep from grinning too much.

"Alright, who thinks the answer is muggle?" The majority of the class raised their hands, many of them known purebloods. "...Alright, and magical?" The rest of the class raised their hands—the ones who were muggleborn or muggle-raised.

Inuyasha released the grin he held back. This would be interesting.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"Hey, Professor Snape! Did you know that humans were not _meant_ to have magic? Wizards have an energenical imbalance..." Kennedy Whickman's voice faded from Harry's hearing as he strode outside with purpose. He put on an extra burst of speed as he spotted his target.

"Wait up, _Professor_."

Inuyasha's back literally froze up as he heard the tone in his charge's voice. He turned around, unhurriedly, to face Harry.

"Can I help you, young man?" Inuyasha asked pleasantly.

"Cut the crap," Harry snapped. "Why, in the nine gates of Hell, did you deem it unnecessary to inform me that you would be teaching here?"

Inuyasha paused for a moment.

"To tell you the truth is was a spur of the moment deal. The PTB were totally against it, so I told them to fuck off, and then you were dragged into Hell. And that's when I went in for the job interview," he concluded. "After I had the other guy obliviated, of course."

"Wh-what??" Harry sputtered, "You obliviated a man just to get in the school?"

"Uh-huh."

"Inuyasha! That's illegal _and_ immoral! Wait...how'd you get him oblivated in the first place?"

"Chill pup. I have connections. And the guy was severely depressed anyway. His wife was having an affair, his kids hated him, he was being charged for child molestation; trust me, I did the guy a favor."

Harry opened his mouth to further protest when his cell phone rang. Why he had his cell phone on him in the first place, he may never know.

"Inuyasha," he said slowly, "...why is my cell phone working within the wards?"

Inuyasha looked towards the sky.

"I have no idea."

Harry shook his head, giving up on the man altogether, and answered his phone on the fourth ring.

"Hello."

"Ah! He lives! Good thing too...I've been in dire need of my sex buddy."

It was Shiva.

"Ditto," Harry responded, still keeping his narrowed eyes on Inuyasha.

"Word on the street is you've been to Hell and back."

"Literally. But I've been out of the loop as to what's going on in this realm. Apparently Inuyasha's run rampant in my absence."

Shiva laughed.

"I can't help you out there—I've been stuck in the Digiworld."

"Oh yeah? How are things there?"

"We won the war, for now anyway—"

"—Well that's great—"

"—And Tai has a kid."

"Cool."

"..."

"Wait...what?"

"The idiot got Moira pregnant—you know, the chick we've been trying to kill. Now we've been taking care of Chelsea, who is Tai's daughter."

Harry pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, not knowing whether to believe her or not.

"It's true," Inuyasha said. Harry jumped, having forgotten he was there.

"It's true?" Harry echoed, "It's true and you didn't tell me?"

"I forgot."

Harry gave him a disbelieving look, "You've been _forgetting_ a lot lately.

"I've been a bit distracted by _other_ certain events happening here," Inuyasha said with meaning.

Harry knew where he was going with this.

"Hey, don't turn this around on me! Why didn't you take your fucking riddlin?"

Inuyasha pressed his lips together, fighting down a smirk, and walloped Harry on the side of the head before the boy could even think to duck.

"Don't give me attitude, whelp. Now talk to Shiva. I've got a vampiress to seduce with my manly, manly charm."

Harry rolled his eyes as he watched Inuyasha waltz back up to the castle, rubbing his smarting ear.

"That man is psychotic," Harry spoke into the phone.

"I know," Shiva agreed. "But he's the only one who can make insanity look so damn sexy!"

"Inuyasha _does_ always say that his insanity is just misunderstood creativity. Personally, I think he's in denial."

"Me too."

"So, tell me about Tai's kid. Chelsea was her name, did you say?"

"Yeah, and she's adorable—though it's taking the four of us just to figure out how to raise her. She already has her little tiny fangs popping in and the most softest black feathered wings."

"What the hell is she, anyway?"

"Well, I think she's about a quarter human, quarter goddess, quarter concubine, and quarter ice spirit."

Harry whistled, "That's fucked up."

And he thought _his_ DNA was bad.

A sudden idea popped into Harry's head. Growing excited, he couldn't keep the anticipation from his voice as he said, "Shiva—I need you to do me a _huge_ favor. Do you think you can meet me in Hogsmeade in two weeks?"

"Hmmm, I suppose. What do I get in return?"

Harry heard the bell ringing, signaling his next class was about to begin.

"Sex," he replied. She never turned down sex.

"Sounds good."

"All right, class time, I gotta go. See ya."

"Later."

Harry snapped his phone shut and sprinted back into the castle to begin his first DADA class with Professor Verchik, using a bit of demonic speed to get him there on time.

He entered the classroom just in time and took the only available seat next to Justin Flinch-Fletchley.

"Hello Harry," Justin greeted in his usual over friendly and pompous manner, "Have a nice summer?"

It was an odd question to ask considering the entire school was under the impression that he nearly died in Hell. Which he did, but no one aside Inuyasha knew the true story.

Still, Harry appreciated that Justin kept the question as low key as possible.

"It was alright. Yours?"

"Splendid, splendid. I was wondering...are we continuing with the DA?"

Harry was caught off guard with the question. He hadn't put any thought into it after Sirius died.

"I really hadn't thought about it," he said truthfully, "Do you think we'll need it? I've heard this professor is quite good."

"Oh yes, she's magnificent—really knows her stuff—but now that the war has really started wouldn't it be wise to get some extra training?"

Harry could see his point but before he could comment a sultry voice interrupted their conversation.

"Hello Mr. Potter," Harry looked up as Professor Verchik glided to his desk. His improved hearing could hear Justin's heartbeat increase as she approached. Sounded like someone had a crush.

"We were just studying the reign of demons and how demonic lineage has been diluted through the ages. How coincidental that you have just come back from the place from where they were driven."

Her coal black eyes seemed to bore into his mind and he hoped to God that she wasn't using some off form of undead legilimency on him. What did Inuyasha see in this girl? She was terrifying!

Verchik smiled politely at him, as if secretly enjoying his discomfort, and turned to address the class.

"Now I want you to get into your groups and make your decision on which wizarding line to search for any traces of demonic ancestry."

After she said this Justin got up and joined Hannah Abbot and Zacharias Smith at another table. The professor looked over at Harry who twiddling his thumbs on the desk, "Mr. Potter, we are currently working on a project in groups of three, studying certain old wizarding families, as you weren't present for the last month, you will have to join the only group of two."

Harry looked over his shoulder to where she pointed at his future work group. Meeting his shocked gaze with equal horror was Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Dun, dun, dun... the plot chickens....

If Inuyasha seems like a nut case: it's because he is. A lot has happened to him in five hundred years and not all of it was good. We'll delve into his psyche later.

Now should Harry and Draco become friends or stay enemies till the end? Or something in between? Ideas are always welcome!

And, I update about once a week because it's about all the time I have.

The reviews are so flattering! You guys rule!


	27. Shrieking Shack Shagging

**Shrieking Shack Shagging**

Harry grimaced as he plopped down in the seat across from his school rival and his bitch. They didn't look any more pleased with the arrangements than he.

"I hope you don't delude yourself into thinking your fame will get you out of working," Malfoy sneered. Pansy stuck her up-turned nose even higher in agreement. Harry rubbed his temples, already feeling the headache.

"Malfoy—do yourself a favor and shut up."

"You think you're so great just because you've been to 'Hell'," Malfoy spat quietly so the teacher wouldn't hear. "It's probably another ploy to make you even more famous, eh Potter? But when the dark lord finds you it won't matter where you've been, he'll make you regret you've ever been born."

"I already do," Harry replied darkly. "But what I don't regret is what I did to those demons that got in my way. I can sympathize with Voldemort now—killing is addicting. And I'm just _itching_ to kill something again."

The two Slytherins before him gave him slightly alarmed and disbelieving looks. The small, spiked scent of fear emitting from them caused him to grin treacherously.

"Have you chosen a family line?" Verchik asked, appearing right behind Harry. Malfoy immediately straightened in his seat.

"Yes professor, I thought we'd do the _Black_ family line."

Harry stiffened.

"I don't remember agreeing on that," he hissed angrily to the blond who looked very satisfied at his reaction.

"Well you weren't here last class Potter and we decided it then," Malfoy replied with snood.

"No we di—" Pansy started but was cut off from a sharp kick from Malfoy.

"An excellent choice," Professor Verchik said evenly, ignoring the conversation that went on before her, "And why did you choose this?"

"Well it is from my mother's side so it would be interesting to know something about my family."

"Very well," She said, scribbling something down in the parchment she had in front of her. "I suggest you get to work immediately. You only have two weeks to finish this and the Black line branches out to some obscure lines."

"Great," Pansy moaned. "Why the bloody hell did you do that Dray? Couldn't you have picked an easier one? And why did you kick me? That hurt, dammit."

"Shut up Pansy," Malfoy scowled, "We're meeting in the library tomorrow after lunch Potter. Don't be late."

"Can't wait," Harry muttered. This was going to be a long two weeks.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"We're going to have to look at each person's history as we go up the line," said Pansy, not looking forward to the work. The three students sat at a circular table in the library surrounded by piles of books.

"Well I know for a fact that the generations up to my great grandmother were purely human," Malfoy drawled.

"Great, that leaves us with at least twenty more branches," Harry muttered, grabbing a book from the pile and flipping it open. Coincidentally, the page he flipped open to show an exact replica of the Black family tapestry in Grimmuald Palace—the only difference was that this one didn't have select names blasted out. Malfoy and Pansy followed the suit, picking out their own books.

"I'll start with Reynold Black," Harry said, picking out the first name he saw.

"I'll take Louise Ramsey," Pansy declared.

"Baldwin Black," stated Malfoy.

The three set to work, steadily ignoring each other despite the tense atmosphere, which would periodically be broken for a random insult here and there.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Harry grinned as he strolled down the brisk roads of Hogsmeade. Life for him was pretty good compared to previous years, with the exception of his stupid project. He spent more time arguing with his partners than accomplishing anything. Another thing that annoyed him was the lack of demons. He had grown restless in the absence of his best source of exercise started to take it out on those around him. Just yesterday, he slammed some Slytherin seventh year into a wall hard enough to knock him out just for calling him 'Saint Potter'.

He ignored the stares and whispers that surrounded him as he passed people on the street. He usually heard snippets of how it was amazing that he was alive, or the mean or nice speculations on how he survived attacks from demons, or how good he looked in those muggle jeans he was wearing. His fame seemed to double since his return to the mortal realm. According to local gossip he had been posted in a couple issues of Witch Weekly, something he wanted nothing to do with.

He entered the Three Broomsticks and looked around in the dim light for the person he planned to meet, quickly spotting her in a corner booth, sipping a butterbeer.

"Hey Shives!" he said, bounding up to the table. She looked very pretty today with her hair left down and curling around her shoulders. She wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a simple but flattering white sweater.

"Reginald Fairfield!" she cried, leaping from her seat and latching onto him. "Ready for some wild, hot human sex?" she asked wiggling her eyebrows.

Michael Corner, who sat a couple tables away from them with a group of rowdy friends, choked on his drink.

"Shhh," Harry managed through his grin. "Keep it down. There are children about."

They both took a seat in the booth; Shiva snuggled in closer to Harry.

"Hey, you smell good. More demonly..." She sniffed again and suddenly looked serious. "Wait...you really _do_ smell more demonly!"

Harry smirked, "I was waiting for you to notice."

Shiva looked at him impatiently.

"Well then tell me what the hell is going on, dammit!"

Harry proceeded to explain exactly what happened in Hell, from jumping in after the book, to the ritual, to his encounter with Naraku. He did not worry about being overheard; he spoke in low tones that got lost within the lively setting and his senses would have picked up any beetle animagi long ago.

"...Which is why I need you to do me this favor," he finished after his longwinded explanation. Shiva blinked her way back out of her listening trance.

"And that would be..."

"I need you to teach me how to shadow walk."

The girl appeared shocked for a moment, before sniggering, "And here I thought you had forgotten."

Harry grinned, encouraged.

"Oh no—I've been hell-bent on learning that."

"Alright, alright, fine. But we need some place to practice," she said. Harry had already thought of this.

"Follow me."

He led her outside of the pub and behind a mostly vacant store.

"You know what the Shrieking Shack is?" he asked, looking around to make sure no one distinctly watched them.

"The creepy place on the hill? Che-yeah. That was the first place I broke into when Tai first brought me here and let me tell you—there are _no_ ghosts."

Harry chuckled, "I could have told you that. But this does make it easier. I need you to take us in there."

"Sir, yes sir," Shiva saluted, throwing an arm around him.

Harry once again felt the tingly and disturbing feeling of his body being painlessly broken down into little molecules and put back together again. In the next moment, he found himself in the very room where he first confronted Sirius in. His heart gave a painful lurch and he could feel his face traitorously grimace.

"Are you ok?" Shiva asked carefully. Harry swallowed the lump that tried to form in his throat, cursing himself for his inability to move on.

"Yeah," he assured her. "Lets get to work."

"Alright," Shiva agreed. She stood in front of him and took a deep breath. "I don't really know how to teach something like this so just watch what I do, you already know how it feels, and try it."

"Um...ok?" Harry said, now sounding unsure himself. What if there were mess-ups like there were with apparation? A different variation of a splinching, perhaps?

Harry turned his attention on Shiva, whose body suddenly dissolved into a dark, smoky mist. It swirled quickly before disappearing all together. At nearly the same time, about five feet away from where she was once standing, the mist reappeared, spinning and spinning as it quickly thickening and stretching into a body. The process in its entirety took less than three seconds.

"Wow..."

"Now you try," Shiva said. "But you have to focus on your youki—ask for its help. Picture as clearly as you can your body doing what mine just did and concentrate on how it felt. It's actually pretty easy, but it's not possible for every demon. Focus on the air, know what your body is capable of, and establish a clear destination."

"Right," Harry muttered, closing his eyes and picturing the spot right behind Shiva. He tried imagining his body dissolving into the smoky substance like Shiva's had. He remembered the feeling of his molecules breaking down and reshaping, traveling. He felt as light as air and his stomach jolted from the sudden increase of speed. His body then felt heavy, like he was building back up again, every particle of himself moving back in place. He opened his eyes to see the back of Shiva's head. She turned to face him, smiling brilliantly.

"Way to go, tiger! I told you it was ridiculously simple."

"I-I did it!" Harry exclaimed, elated. He picked Shiva up in a hug and spun her around.

"Put me down, fool!" she laughed.

"This is going to give me such a fucking edge over them!" Harry crowed, still glowing with victory. He finally put Shiva down.

"For that uncharacteristic display of affection, you have to show me what you really look like."

Harry just nodded and took out his wand. He paused for a moment.

"You show me you, too."

"Fine. On the count of three," She said, poising her left hand over the ring on her right. Harry lifted his wand to himself.

"One, two...three."

Shiva pushed a button on her ring the same time that Harry removed his glamour spell. He almost fell down in surprise. The difference in Shiva was immense. Her skin turned to dark silver, with black striped markings on her face. Her eyes were completely black, sclera and all. Her hair was black as well. She had claws, fangs, and pointed ears like himself and, most interestingly, a slender tail with a pointed end. Though she was still very pretty, in a dangerous, exotic type of way.

"_Damn_, you're fine!" Shiva said, giving him a once over.

"Well, you're fucking hot, yourself. Look at all that leather..." he would have noticed a blush had her skin been lighter.

"I want my sex right now," Shiva demanded, growling lowly in her throat. She didn't wait for a reply; instead, she took two steps into his arms and buried her face in his neck, licking and nuzzling, taking in his musky, demonic scent.

"No marking," Harry warned.

"I know; the same goes for you. I'm not the only one with fangs now," she reminded him.

"No, but you're the only one with these," He said huskily before capturing her mouth with his and grabbing hold of her breasts, massaging them. He had never been so bold as a human, but his demon instincts were taking over his actions, making him far more aggressive than he ever thought possible. Shiva responded by moaning into the kiss and pulling him closer to her.

"Do you think we should change back?" Shiva asked as she quickly tugged her shirt over her head.

"No fucking way," Harry breathed, trapping her against a decrepit wall.

At the same time, one Professor Nagasaki stood just outside the gates surrounding the old building. The man leaned languidly against the rickety fence as he listened to the headmaster drone on and on about the history of the town. The old man had taken it upon himself to give his new teacher a tour of Hogsmeade. Inuyasha decided against informing Dumbledore that he had been familiar with the town since before the human was even born.

"...And this is the Shrieking Shack, the most notoriously haunted structure in Scotland. Though it has been silent for years. In fact, I am certain that it has been abandoned for quite some time now," Dumbledore said with his infamous twinkle in his eye. "But the locals do like to keep the rumors going."

Inuyasha's eyebrows rose and he looked over at the seemingly forsaken shack. He might have believed it if two familiar scents had not reached his nose, mingling enticingly in the air. Even in his human form, he could discern the significance of it.

"Abandoned, huh?" he inquired, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh, yes. No one's been in there for years," the _younger_ man said confidently. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

A loud, shriek-like moan from the building sent a flock of crows into the air. At the same time, Albus Dumbledore accidentally swallowed his treat down the wrong pipe, causing him to choke and sputter comically.

"It sounds like those ghosts are back," Inuyasha said cheerfully whacking his new boss on the back to help dislodge the misplaced candy.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Yay! Harry got a new trick that's better than apparating! And Dumbledore choked. What could be better?

Thank you all so much for your patience. My papers and projects are done and my high school career is officially over tomorrow at ten! Woot!

Peace and love everyone!


	28. Inuyasha Black

**Inuyasha Black**

"Potter, if you kick me one more time I'll hit you with an impotence jinx that will last you a lifetime," Pansy threatened. Once again, the three of them spent their afternoon in the library, pouring themselves over dozens of books. So far they had covered about two hundred and fifty Blacks, two-thirds of the family, and found not one ounce of demon blood in anyone.

"I wasn't me, it was your boy toy," Harry said lazily without looking up from his notes.

"I am not, nor will I ever be, a 'boy toy'," Malfoy scowled. He then added in a quieted tone, "Especially not hers."

"Hey!" Pansy cried offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Madam Pince shushed them with a glare.

Harry finally looked up from his work, confused.

"I thought you two were going out?"

Malfoy scoffed, "Hardly."

"We tried it, not that it's any of your business, but soon found it to be fruitless," Pansy said conversationally. This was the first time Harry could ever recall her talking somewhat civilly to him. "Turns out his tastes aren't exactly with witches."

"Really? I always figured him to just be metrosexual," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Excuse me," Malfoy hissed, completely insulted. "I'm right here you know, and I like witches just fine. It was _you_ I had the problem with."

"_Me_? I'll have you know..."

Harry drowned them out as he stared back at the page in front of him. It was the first book he picked out when they started the project, the one with the family tree in it. He had been crossing out the names he covered as he went up the line. He looked behind him to make sure madam Pince wasn't watching before pressing the tip of his quill to the paper and drawing a thin line over Ednus Black. He looked up to see who Ednus' parents were... Magnus Black, married to Susanna Wellington...he had a brother, Julian, who—

Harry stopped reading and stared at the paper, blinking his eyes hard. He removed his glasses, cleaned them on the corner of his shirt and put them back on.

This was wrong.

This wasn't even possible.

He stood up suddenly, causing his chair to topple over loudly. The noise started both Draco and Pansy, the latter shrieking loudly.

"Potter, what the hell are you doing?" Draco hissed. He noticed, from the corner of his eye, Madam Pince marching towards them, a murderous look on her face. Harry didn't bother to answer; he just turned and ran out of the library, abandoning the book and his work.

"I liked him better when he was predictable and a goody-goody," Draco stated insipidly. Pansy nodded in agreement.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Elphias Doge sat in the kitchen of the Order's headquarters, sipping on a steaming cup of tea and reading the Daily Prophet. Voldemort had been unusually quiet as of late, not leaving any leads or hints of information for them to figure out his plans. Even Snape's position proved to be almost no help. While Voldemort's appearance in the Ministry had certainly rallied the support of the majority of the wizarding world, shedding light on the situation at hand, the ministry itself continued to try and keep any activity pertaining to the war under wraps. Their mindset may have been to maintain a peaceful atmosphere among the community, probably hoping to take care of Voldemort behind the scenes and not involve their entire world again, but in reality they simply enabled Voldemort to continue to gather his own support, unhindered.

Elphias' shoulders sagged and he took and other sip of his tea. The headquarters always required someone to be there to make sure it was not discovered by anyone who knew the Black family. Today was his turn, his office under the impression that he was out with a bad case of lung warts, and the boredom had already begun to take hold.

Elphias first thought the glimpse of dark, wispy smoke suddenly appearing in the center of the kitchen was a figment of his overactive imagination. But as it began to grow in size and density alarm kicked in. He stood quickly, dropping his tea and whipping out his wand. By the time he hit his dueling stance the smoke took on the shape of a human body, quickly clearing to show none other than Harry Potter.

"M-Mr. Potter!" Elphias exclaimed, nearly dropping his wand as well. He took a startled step backward and blinked his eyes continually, not believing what he just saw.

"Hey Doge," Harry said breathlessly before sprinting past him and out of the kitchen. It took Elphias a moment to realize he ran off.

"O-oh no. Um, Mr. Potter!" he called after him. Elphias could hear the thumps as the boy took the stairs two by two. "Gotta floo Albus," he muttered to himself, tripping over the hem of his robes in his haste to reach the fireplace.

Harry arrived on the second floor landing and hurtled down the hallway, skidding to a stop at the tapestry Sirius showed him the year before. He skimmed over the names quickly, his finger grazing up the canvas until it reached Magnus Black. He ran it across the gold line to the left, over to his brother, Julian Black, who should have been present according to the book's records. Instead, a large, burnt smudge took its place; Julian's name had been blasted off like Sirius'. Underneath Julian was Izayoi Black—who was married to an unknown—and under Izayoi was the name _Inuyasha Black_.

How many people could possibly be named Inuyasha?

Harry then did something no one in the Order had been able to do. Gripping both sides of the tapestry with his hands, he tore it from the wall, leaving the crumbing plaster in its absence. A swirl of smoke later and he was gone.

Barely five seconds after his departure from headquarters Dumbledore and Doge came running around the corner.

Doge scratched his head, staring at the empty hallway, "I could have sworn he was here sir..."

"I believe you Elphias," Dumbledore said, his eyes fixed on the bare wall where the tapestry once hung, "I believe you."

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

"INUYASHA!" Harry yelled as he burst into his classroom. "You son of a bitch, get out here!"

Thankfully, for the young ears and malleable vocabulary of the school's youth, class was not in session.

"Actually, the dog part came from my father's side."

Harry whirled around and thrust the abused tapestry into his chest. Inuyasha pulled it away from him and looked at it. He released a heavy breath.

"Right..." but Inuyasha couldn't think of anything more to say to Harry. He had been hoping this would not come up.

"You were a Black? You were related to Sirius?"

Inuyasha cast his eyes back to the tapestry in his hands, "Remember how I said I had the magical gene?"

"Yeah?" Harry said, impatient for an answer. Inuyasha remained silent for a moment longer as he looked over the names on the family tree before him.

"My mother was a squib," he said fondly, tracing his fingers over the name Izayoi. Harry walked over next to him and looked at the tapestry as well.

"Who's he?" he asked, tapping was could be seen of Julian Black's name from its violent removal.

"My grandfather. From what I know, he went to Japan on business and met my grandmother, the daughter of a Japanese lord. When my mother was born, they decided to raise her in Japan because of a dangerous feud between my grandfather and his brother. Then she met my father, who was a demon lord."

"What happened to everyone?" Harry asked. He regretted it a second later, remembering how much he hated being asked to talk about why he was orphaned. Why should Inuyasha have to do the same?

"You don't have to answer that—"

"No it's alright. I don't even remember my father; he died when I was a baby. On my sixth birthday my grandfather, uh, Julian, threw a party for me at his castle. They would give me a glamour charm for these events so that I could mingle with the people. That was when Magnus stormed the castle, killing everyone there, including my mother."

"You were six?" Harry asked quietly. He knew better than to just stupidly say 'I'm sorry'. He knew the meaninglessness of it from experience.

"Feh. Yea."

"How did you escape?"

"My grandfather threw a portkey at me seconds before he was hit by a killing curse. It took me back to Japan. I didn't come back until sixty years later."

Maybe this was why Harry became attached to Inuyasha so quickly, because Inuyasha reminded him of Sirius with his constant laughing and mischievous ways. Now that Harry looked at him, he could see a bit of resemblance. Under the rugged exterior Inuyasha had the Black regal features: a strong jaw line, high cheekbones, and dark brow. His human form had black hair, like Sirius, and the same violet eyes as Bellatrix...though perhaps less insane. But only a little.

"Why didn't you say anything? About you being a Black, I mean," Harry asked dejectedly, plopping down on a desk. Inuyasha sat down on the desk next to him and shrugged.

"I guess I thought it didn't matter much. I knew about your godfather, so I didn't want to bring anything up. I'm sorry anyways."

Harry scratched his arm sheepishly, "Yeah well, I'm sorry for freaking out like that."

Inuyasha nodded in acceptance and the two sat in silence for a moment.

"Wanna get some ramen?"

"Do I!"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"Where were you yesterday, Potter?" Malfoy demanded at the start of their next library meeting, "We only have two days left to finish this!"

"Chill out, it's in the bag now," Harry said, dropping his book bag next to his chair and pulling out his notes.

"What the hell did you just say?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the pureblood's ignorance of muggle sayings, "Never mind. I found a demon in the line."

"You did?" Pansy exclaimed excitedly.

"Shhhh!" Madam Pince hushed them.

"Yeah, shhh," Harry agreed before he proceeded to explain the relationship between Izayoi and the demon lord.

"I can't believe there was a squib in the Black family," Draco said in disbelief when he finished.

"So the line stops at this Inuyasha guy?" Pansy asked ignoring him, "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Who cares," Harry said, not wanting to reveal Inuyasha's true age and lineage.

"Yeah, the loser was just a half-breed anyway," Draco laughed.

"Hey!" Harry said sharply. "Watch it."

"What do you care? You're disgusting love for half-giants is one thing, but don't tell me you've got a weakness for demons too."

Harry said nothing and took a calming breath, "Let's just get this project done alright?"

"Fine with me. Pansy, hand me my quill will you?" Draco asked, pulling out some books. The library had gone quiet once they stopped talking.

"Where is everyone? Are we the only ones in here?" Harry asked, briefly looking up and glancing around the bare room. There was something tickling the back of his mind, berating him for missing something.

"How the hell should I know where everyone is, Potter? Pansy! I asked you to get me my quill—hey...what's wrong?"

Harry looked at Pansy who sat directly across the table from him. She stared behind them with her mouth open in wordless horror as if she were about to scream. Slowly, the two boys turned around in their seats to see Madam Pince standing behind them, her body teetering dangerously. Her eyes were rolled up in the back of her head, revealing only the bottom whites of them, and a gaping hole stood in the center of her forehead. With a groan her body fell backwards and hit the floor with a thud, dead.

Pansy finally released the scream she tried to hold in.

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

I know, I know—Bad me! Very, very bad me! I'm sorry! I do have an excuse...sort of... It was senior week. But the parties and prom and graduation are over and I am home free! So I have no more excuses. (Thanks I.S.F. for bitching my ass out—it really got me motivated.)

We finally got to know a little more about Inuyasha. Even though that was pretty much an entire summary of "Road to Remembrance". O well.

Oh, and sorry about killing off Madam Pince. It had to be done.

Leave some!


	29. Blackmail

**Blackmail**

Harry sprung from his chair sniffing the air carefully and discretely. Draco's eyes were fixed on the librarian, watching the ever-growing pool of blood band around her head, staining her stringy, gray hair.

"W-w-w-w-," he stuttered, pointing a shaky finger at the corpse.

"_Shut up_," Harry whispered harshly. He could hear something breathing, but it was very faint. Not to mention it was hard to concentrate with Malfoy whimpering in his ear.

Without warning, Madam Pince's body sat up; her eyes glazed over from death and her mouth left hanging open. Draco and Pansy released screams, both alike in volume and pitch, and bolted from library. Harry, on the other hand, did nothing.

He leaned gently against the table and watched as the body struggled to get on its feet. As his former librarian turned to face him he noticed some movement in the hole within her forehead. The hole looked to be big enough to fit his fist in, as well as any brain-eating demon that size.

Mingled in with the nauseating scent of blood and death wafted the unmistakable stench of a demon, and it hit him like a wave the moment she was on her feet.

Pince suddenly flew at him like a puppet on strings, her eyes rolling madly in their sockets, a trail of saliva and blood trailing behind her from her slack mouth.

Harry dodged, allowing the corpse to hit the table and chairs behind him with a crash. He quickly dropped his glamour charm, and without the magic swirling and bared his fangs at the demon he knew to possess her body. Pince's body simply lifted itself out of the mess and flew at Harry again. This time Harry stood his ground. Reaching back a clawed hand, he thrust it forward the moment the corpse was close enough and plunged it into the hole in her forehead. He grasped his fingers around the struggling demon inside, absently noting the lack of brains he felt. Either the demon ate them out or the woman really was an idiot. He finally managed to rip the black, hairy, rodent-like demon from its hovel.

Gleefully picturing it as Pettigrew, Harry crushed it in his fist.

"Uhg, nasty," Harry whispered with a disgusted face as he stared down at the body in his blood-soaked hand. He burned what was left of the demon using blood magic with Madam Pince's blood. Obviously, it was possible to use another's blood for blood magic but it was never as powerful as using your own.

He turned to face the body, wondering what the hell he was going to tell Dumbledore. He could always destroy the body and claim Malfoy and Pansy insane. It wasn't like there were any witnesses, right? A noise from the hall startled him out of that idea.

"She's dead! I swear she's dead!"

His nose told him Malfoy, Pansy, Dumbledore, and Snape were quickly making their way to the library with Ron and Hermione not far behind. Without bothering to put his glamour charm back on, Harry leapt out the open window, jumping from windowsill to windowsill until he reached Inuyasha's quarters.

In his haste to get out of the library, Harry didn't notice a shaking and frightened redhead crouching under a library table.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

When Harry arrived at Inuyasha's window, he wasn't surprised to find Professor Verchik there as well, sitting in a refined manner with her legs crossed and clearly very annoyed with his adviser.

"Please," Inuyasha begged with the most adorable puppy dog look he could muster. And that was pretty damn adorable considering he had his ears out.

"No."

Alas, it was not adorable enough for Morgana.

"Please."

"No."

"I'll give you a massage."

"Don't touch me."

"You really shouldn't deny yourself such great pleasures in life. People will think you're a frigid bitch by choice."

"Are you finished? There's someone who'd like to see you on at your window."

"He can wait."

"He's covered in blood."

"He's into that stuff."

Morgana sighed and waved her hand, allowing the window to unlock itself and Harry to let himself in.

"Er...am I interrupting?"

"Potter, please try and refrain from following in his footsteps. It's bad enough you've picked up his uncouth language in only a few short months," Professor Verchik said, who had fallen into quite a sour mood.

"Now, now," Inuyasha said with a saucy grin. "Just because you want me against your better judgment doesn't mean you have to take it out on him."

Morgana threw her hands in the air and began making her way to the door, "I can't handle you right now."

"You couldn't handle me, period."

The vampiress swung around, fixing Inuyasha with an icy and defiant glare. Harry felt a chill go down his spine and the look wasn't even directed at him. Inuyasha seemed to be basking in it.

"Fine. Next Hogsmeade weekend," she said starkly and then stalked out the door.

Inuyasha leaned back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head, looking very much like the cat that got the canary. Or, in his case, the dog that got the cat.

"You have the strangest taste in women, you know that right?" Harry asked warily.

"Well, women are women," Inuyasha replied insightfully. "Except for priestesses. I'm through with them. So what happened to you?"

Harry shrugged and plopped down in the chair across from Inuyasha's desk, "Oh, you know. Same old, same old. A demon made a home out of the librarian's head. Now...are there actually wards protecting the castle from demons?"

"Uh..." Inuyasha squinted and looked around like he was trying to feel the wards right then and there, "...No. But I did warn you about this. Without anyone guarding the ninth gate, the demons have pretty much free reign in that area."

"Well, more fun for me I guess; it's about time they started coming. But Dumbledore's found the body by now. I bet he'll make it a real pain in the ass to go hunting without being detected. Damn...I should have destroyed it when I had the chance. Do you think it's too late to just destroy all the evidence? How many do you reckon have seen it?"

"Oh, a fair few so don't even bother. What I want to know is how come you didn't sense it earlier."

Harry blushed, "Uh...I don't really know actually. I think it was because I was so excited to be able to finish the project I spent four weeks working on."

"Really? Because I think it is because you let your guard down after doing nothing for so long."

"Heh heh...hang on, why didn't you sense it?"

"You didn't actually think a low class demon like that could have made it into the castle without alerting me, did you?" Inuyasha said, looking slightly hurt that Harry would think so lowly of him.

"If you sensed it, then why didn't you do anything? How the fuck am I supposed to get my freaking books when I'm one librarian down?" Harry asked, trying to maintain his angry face. A woman was dead, and he was starting to think it was funny. What was wrong with him?

"Um, hello, did you see the hot babe sitting in that chair a moment ago?" Inuyasha said as if the answer was obvious.

"There are demons running amuck, killing my librarians, and you're more interested in wooing my DADA teacher?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well, she's a very interesting woman."

"You're hopeless."

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o0o

"Students, I have a very grave announcement to make," Dumbledore called over the sea of children in the Great Hall who anticipated their dinner. But the air was thick with fear and apprehension, for the news of Madam Pince's demise spread like the wildfire gossip is.

"Harry, I have to talk to you," Hermione whispered severely to him from across the table, "Malfoy told me you were the last person in the library with Pince's body and when he left there wasn't blood and chairs everywhere. _What happened_?"

But her inquiry was cut short by Dumbledore's booming voice.

"As I'm sure many of you have heard already, Madam Pince was found dead a few hours earlier. However, the cause of her death remains unknown. We will be doing further investigations immediately and ask for your cooperation in finding the perpetrator. If any of you have any information on this matter, please come forth and allow us to put this heinous deed to justice. This may very well be the act of Voldemort, who has been unusually quiet these past few months.

"The library is now off limits until further notice," Hermione took that moment to look up at the headmaster, appalled. "Aurors will be arriving shortly and will take up posts throughout the school for the remainder of the year. All students are to be in their dormitories by no later than seven o'clock and no one is to venture the hallways without being accompanied by at least two or more people. Failure to comply with these rules will result in a detention, loss of house points, or more. This is for your own safety."

No one thought to vocalize against the new rules; hearing of a violent death in a seemingly safe school shook the defiance right out of the teenagers.

Hermione leaned forward once more, "Harry, if you know something you _have_ to tell me!"

"Why? So you can go tell your boss?" Harry asked scathingly before biting into a buttered carrot.

"Why are you being so difficult?" Hermione replied maddened as she ran a hand through her snarled hair.

"Come on mate," Ron piped up through a mouthful of mashers. "Just tell her what you want and she'll leave you alone."

Harry was about to tell them both to get off his back when Dumbledore spoke again, this time standing right behind him.

"Harry, would you meet me in my office, now?"

"Great," Harry deadpanned; abandoning what was left of his dinner to go chat with his favorite psychotic old guy.

0o0o0o0o

0o0o0o0o

Surprisingly, Dumbledore was already in his office when Harry arrived.

"Have a seat Harry," he said, starting off in the 'grandfather' mode. Harry sat down guardedly.

"Now, from what I've heard, you were in the library when Madam Pince was killed."

Harry shook his head.

"I don't know when she was killed, I just saw her body."

"And then what did you do?"

"I left."

Dumbledore blinked and then sighed.

"Please, Harry, I need to know what happened during the time Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Parkinson left the library and when you did."

"I left right after they did. I saw that bloody hole in her head and left."

Harry knew Dumbledore knew he was lying—he never did master occlumency. Dumbledore then sought a new tactic.

"I've noticed you're spending a lot of time with Professor Nagasaki, Harry."

Harry could feel himself growing agitated.

"Your point, sir?"

"I prefer it if you don't get too close to the teachers. I'd like the keep all relationships between students and teachers strictly that. Perhaps you should spend some more time with your friends; you've hardly interacted with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. They're worried about how you've pulled away from them. This isn't healthy, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes thinking, '_This is bull shit, that's what this is._'

"What about Lupin? You sure as hell didn't mind me spending time with him."

"Language Harry. And that was a special case. I knew exactly what he was teaching you, as I also understood your need to find a connection to your parents."

"No. It's because he was so loyal to you. Because he reports everything I do to you." He really hated to say such things about the werewolf but he couldn't trust anyone who was so trusting in one person.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, staring curiously at the young Gryffindor.

"That was certainly not the case, Harry. As for the current matter at hand, I am simply implying that I could revoke any privileges of yours to speak to him if you don't willingly divulge the information you are withholding from me."

Harry gaped at him for a full ten seconds.

"Are you blackmailing me, professor?"

"Please do not think of it like that, Harry. Just tell me what happened."

A growl nearly burst forth from his throat—one that clearly would have sounded inhuman—and Harry quelled it with all his will power.

"I. Don't. Know."

Dumbledore peered at him over his half-moon glasses, "Harry, we both know you're not telling the truth."

Harry rubbed a hand over his face, totally fed up.

"Sir, did you interrupt my dinner just to waste my time?"

Dumbledore looked taken back by that comment.

"Of course not. I simply need to know if Voldemort is involved in this," Dumbledore said as if it were obvious. This was the last straw for a tired and hungry teenage boy.

"Well than why the hell couldn't you ask that in the first place instead of beating around the bush? No. I haven't had any dreams or funny feelings or scar issues the entire year so far, happy? Now, with all due respect sir, I'm going to eat."

Harry stood from his chair and stormed out of the office, ignoring the headmaster's calls for him to return.

Naturally, the first place he went was the kitchen, seeing as dinner in the Great Hall was certainly over and he didn't want to deal with twenty questions from Hermione.

He tickled the pear and entered the kitchen, expecting about twenty house elves to jump to his aid. What he didn't expect, however, was to see the tip of a wand in his face.

"Alright. Who the hell are you?"

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o


	30. Problems Arisen

**Problems Arisen**

Harry blinked at the person on the other end of the wand.

"What?"

"You heard me. Who the hell are you?"

"What the fuck are you talking about Ginny?"

The petit redhead kept her glare steady.

"I saw you in the library. You turned into some kind of monster. Now what did you do to Harry?"

Harry paled considerably at the mention of her witnessing him dropping his glamour charm.

"Ginny, it is me," he said slowly, taking a step forward. Ginny responded by sending sparks out the end of her wand, burning his neck a little. He backed off.

"This is why you've been acting so strange lately," She continued in a trembling voice, "You've possessed his body or something."

Her eyes began to tear up and Harry began to feel bad at what memories this suspicion would cause her to relive. He sighed, realizing it was about time one of his friends knew the truth.

"Ginny, listen to me: I. Am. Harry. Remember how I was stuck in Hell this summer?"

She nodded, but didn't take the glare off him.

"Well, I had to do some things that would help me survive. To make this as uncomplicated as I can…basically I used a complex spell to turn me part demon so I could fight against all the demons that wouldn't stop trying to kill me."

Ginny shook her head, "I don't believe you. Harry would never resort to something like that."

Harry snorted.

"You don't know what I would resort to. Stop thinking I'm some goddamn goody-goody. Now I'm going to take the glamour charm off, but you can't freak out, okay?"

She said nothing so Harry took off the spell. Ginny sucked in a breath, finally getting a good look at him. Her gaze trailed from his slitted eyes, to his protruding fangs and finally to his clawed hands.

"I am Harry," he repeated.

Sniffling, she looked back up at the same emerald green eyes that she gazed into when she was rescued from the Chamber of Secrets—only now they practically glowed. Just beneath the mass of black and silver bangs, the telltale scar remained.

It seemed impossible, she didn't want to believe it, but it was Harry.

"Oh Merlin, it is you!" she cried and threw her arms around his neck. Harry officially freaked out at the sudden contact and decided to do nothing but hold his breath until she let go. Unfortunately, the only Weasley girl in several generations wasn't about to do that anytime soon.

"Oh, I was so worried you were dead and an awful demon or something took your place. Or worse, if Tom had possessed you and turned you against us!" she cried into his neck.

"Er...Okay. Ginny? You have to promise not to tell anyone."

Ginny pulled away.

"But why? Shouldn't you tell Dumbledore?"

"No. No one! Especially not him. Promise me!"

Ginny hesitantly nodded.

"But... what about what you did to Madam Pince?" she asked shakily.

Harry stared at her.

"I didn't kill her."

"I know. But you pulled something out of her forehead and burned it."

"Oh," Harry said in realization, knowing he'd have to tell her more than he intended. "Well...there are some complications with the barrier between this world and Hell and more and more demons are escaping. That was a demon I destroyed and I'm going to be killing a lot more until the problem is fixed."

Ginny looked scared.

"But if a demon killed Pince, shouldn't we tell Dumbledore? I mean, who's to say a student won't be next?"

"No. This is something Dumbledore can't fix. He'll only get in the way. It was my fault; I let my guard down. I guarantee you it won't happen again."

"Harry," she said, with the same warm look she used to give him when she was eleven (and this worried him greatly). "You put too much responsibility on yourself, you know that?"

Harry didn't know what to say to that so his stomach answered for him in a low growl. Both he and Ginny shared a look before breaking out into fits of laughter.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

"Harry Potter, where have you been? I've been waiting for you forever!" Hermione scowled as he walked into the common room with Ginny in tow. Harry froze on the spot and stared at her, wide-eyed. He could _not_ deal with her now.

"Oh, uh," He forced the most realistic yawn he could fake. "I'm really, really tired Herm. I'm going to bed."

"Wait!" She cried as he sprinted past her and up to the boy's dormitory. She made to go after him but Ginny grabbed her arm first.

"Let him go. He really doesn't know anything about what happened."

Hermione looked very dubious.

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_. Now let's get to sleep. It's late."

"But...what if whatever killed Madam Pince is still out there? How do you know it won't attack us next? I studied the body and it wasn't any type of spell!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Ginny said with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'm sure it's all taken care of."

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Harry found himself in an unfamiliar room. It was completely bare, with dark grey walls that extended far beyond what he could see.

"Ah, Harry Potter. I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to you in quite some time," a high, disembodied voice spoke from the shadows.

Harry rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, seemingly bored.

"Cut the dramatics Tom. What do you want?"

"Why your allegiance of course," Voldemort replied, stepping from the shadows. He was dressed in a deep, black cloak with the hood pulled back to reveal a familiar, pale, white head with two, great, red eyes.

"Why do you insist on asking in some manner or another for me to join you when you know it'll never happen?" Harry said in irritation.

Voldemort shrugged.

"I thought I would try my luck, seeing as you and the old man have come to a falling out of sortsss."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "You are in no position to be calling anyone old, Tom."

Voldemort looked like he was about to curse Harry for a brief moment but refrained.

"I've heard a great deal of your exploits in Hell as well as a few new _abilities_ of yours. I'm glad to hear you've taken a leaf out of my book."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the robed figure. "And how did you hear of this? I'm pretty sure I've kept it confidential."

Voldemort ignored him and carried on in a very satisfied tone of voice.

"Are you aware that there is a powerful demon searching for the very book that you possessss?" He grinned at Harry's startled expression. "Yesss. Imagine my surprise when, right in the middle of one of my death eater meetings, a portal to Hell erupted from the ground and I found myself face to face with the legendary Naraku."

Harry could not keep the despairing look from his face. Voldemort chuckled with delight.

"We had a long chat, he and I. Apparently he cannot entirely exit Hell due to some sort of spell your half-breed mentor placed on him. So he desires the book to break it. Can you imagine, Harry, the sort of power he and I would hold together if we were to join forces? Because I can. I can see an entire future of darkness awaiting us. Unimaginable power at my fingertips."

"Can you imagine Inuyasha and me kicking both your asses back to hell? Because I can."

The victorious smirk slid off his nemesis's face.

"Laugh while you can, Potter. But I _will_ have that book! I can guarantee you that! _Crucio_!"

Harry's vision then went black as his scar exploded with pain. He fell to the ground as cruciatus curse after cruciatus curse washed over him.

"—rry...Harry..._Harry_!"

Harry sat up, finding himself sweaty and imprisoned by his blankets.

"Harry!" Ron screamed a forth time. The redhead was now shaking him by his shoulders, "Was it Voldemort? Was it another vision?"

Harry looked around him, breathing hard. Everyone in the room was awake and crowded around his bed. Apparently they remembered last year, because they all wore expressions of fear and anxiety. Harry's eyes widened; the full implications of his vision hit him like a freight train.

"Uh...no, not Voldemort," he said, pulling himself out of his sheets with haste. "It was the Chili...there were fingernails in it!"

Once he was free he ran out of the dormitory, leaving four bewildered youths and a bundle of blankets behind him.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

The second Harry reached Inuyasha's sleeping quarters he began pounding on the door. While teachers usually had an office attached to their classroom, they also had separate sleeping quarters a ways away from their workplace. The only obstacle Harry had encountered on the way down was Filch and Mrs. Norris, but simply jumping on the walls worked in avoiding them and he carried on.

The door swung open as Harry was about to knock on it again and he ended up missing Inuyasha's face by inches. Inuyasha glared at him, clad only in a pair of drawstring pants. He was in his normal form with his silver hair messier than usual and the triangular ears twitching irritably.

"_What?_" he growled. Harry shoved his way into the half-demon's room and plopped down on the bed. Inuyasha growled once more and shut the door.

"Ya' know, in America—we're usually asleep at this hour."

"I just had a vision from Voldemort and he's after the book too," Harry said hurriedly. Inuyasha blinked a bit, looking a little more awake.

"Huh?"

"Yeah! He and Naraku are planning on some sort of alliance and they both need the book. Tom said something about a spell you placed on Naraku that keeps him in Hell?"

Inuyasha paled and plopped down on the bed next to him.

"Oh shit," he moaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

"It's alright for now," Harry said reassuringly. "We have the book. All we have to do is hide it better so neither will find it."

"No, no. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"What?" Harry asked, staring at Inuyasha. "Hey. What have I said about keeping things from me? What isn't supposed to happen?"

Inuyasha looked up, "Never mind that. I need you to get the book and bring it here. It's not safe anywhere near other humans."

He got up to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Harry asked, standing up along with Inuyasha.

"I'm going to see the PTB," he replied, throwing a sweatshirt on over his head.

"But..." Harry didn't want Inuyasha to leave so soon after having a vision. "What if he gets into my head again? He could find out where the book is!"

Inuyasha turned and gave him an annoyed look, "If he could do that, don't you think he would have done it already? Besides, even if he did know where it was it's not like he can do anything about it, right? Didn't you have some sort of training in occlumency?"

Harry gave Inuyasha a wry look, "All I know so far is to "clear my mind" and I can't even do that right."

"'Clear your mind'? 'The hell kind of advice is that?" Inuyasha said with distaste.

"Snape's advice," Harry sighed.

Inuyasha shook his head, "I don't really like that man. He's not a very _clean_ person."

Harry had to laugh at that. Inuyasha continued.

"Tell you what, _I'll _teach you occlumency."

The wizard was sure he heard wrong.

"I'm sorry; did you just say that _you'_d teach me?"

"Well yeah," Inuyasha shrugged, "I mean, I've never taught it before, but I know I can do better than 'clear your mind.'"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute..." Harry said, holding up his hands. "_You_ know occlumency?"

"Yup, it's a good thing to know," Inuyasha said. "Now—I really have to go see the PTB."

"Oh, no! You're not going anywhere! Where the hell did you learn occlumency? I thought you can't do magic?"

Inuyasha grinned, "I never said that, and occlumency isn't really magic—anyone can learn it."

Harry shook his head. He hated it when Inuyasha dropped bombshells on him like this all at once, "But where did you learn it?"

"Azkaban."

"WHAT?!?!"

"Oh look, a hummingbird!" Inuyasha cried, pointing behind Harry. Harry whirled around for a second, before facing back to him.

"What? Inuyasha, when where you..."

He was speaking to an empty room.

"ARRGH!" Harry growled, slapping his hands on top of his head in frustration. "I can't believe I fell for that! I'll fucking kill him when he gets back...why am I still talking to myself?"

Resolving to kick Inuyasha's ass later, Harry turned back to his dorm to get the book.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o0o

Yup—more secrets about Inuyasha may be revealed. I'm definitely going to have Kagome come into this story, but it may be the sequel, which I already have mostly laid out. I also decided to have one of Harry's friends find out the truth and who better than Ginny?

I managed to find some internet at the Hotel I'm staying at in Las Vegas so I could post these. Right now the cleaning lady is here and she's talking to herself in rapid Spanish. It's very, very strange. Holy shit, she just threw a doorknob!

Thanks for being so patient you guys, you rock.


	31. Fangs and Eyes

**Fangs and Eyes**

The PTB were neither male nor female. They held a universal knowledge bestowed upon them by the Creator and were given reign over inferior beings to help them keep order over the creatures of Earth. These beings were of all specie and class, whether it be a Guardian, Ferryman, or Angel, and each knew to grant the PTB's great presence with the appropriate attire and respect.

Yes, the PTB were rarely given any surprises or troubles from these "employees". In fact, only one still had the ability to surprise them at times. And he just came waltzing in wearing a sweatshirt and pajama pants.

"Alright you sanctimonious old people," Inuyasha yelled out as he barged into the white room they congregated at. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

The tallest one turned his hooded face towards the enraged guardian, "Whatever do you mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean," Inuyasha said angrily, "Why the fuck are you dragging Naraku in this?"

The female spoke next, "You remember what we told you when we first revealed the prophesy to you, do you not?"

"Well...yes," Inuyasha said uncertainly, his verve diminishing quickly as what he had been trying to deny came to light. "But if Naraku fights, I'll be forced to fight as well."

"Then that is your destiny."

"But..." Inuyasha knew it was useless to argue, the anger that once fueled his body left him, leaving exhaustion. He knew there was a chance this might happen; he had always known. It was his own fault if he wasn't properly prepared for it. Besides—if worst came to worst, the girls had their mother and the rest of his children were old enough to take care of themselves. But Harry...he wasn't ready yet. He was a good enough demon hunter but he could be so much more. In a of couple years he could even take guardianship over the ninth gate. He needed more time.

"Every thing will come to pass as it is meant to. You know your duty," the tallest one spoke again, as if reading his mind. Inuyasha pursed his lips together; holding back the flippant comment that itched to spring forth from his mouth and knowing it was fruitless to argue. Instead he turned on his heel and marched back to where Harry would be waiting for him with his daily twenty questions.

"You do know he's going to try and get that human boy as the next guardian, don't you?" The one farthest right said with disapproval. "We cannot allow that."

The shortest one shook his head, "You said the same thing about letting a half-human take the responsibility and he has proven himself splendidly. Give the boy a chance. I trust Inuyasha's instincts."

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When Harry returned to his room he was relieved to see that everyone had gone back to sleep. Wasting no time, he moved straight to his trunk and fished out the Book that was buried deep beneath his clothes. Pulling it out, he noticed a shining reflection on the cover from to the window light. He stared down at the familiar leather binding and instantly noticed some new changes. He didn't know why he hadn't observed it before, but imbedded in the cracked, leather cover were tiny fragments of what looked like ivory. He ran his hand over the smooth pieces.

This was definitely something he should have noticed before now. All those times this summer he used this and never had he seen...

"Ouch," Harry hissed out loud, more from shock than pain. He brought his sore finger to his mouth on instinct.

"Wussamatter?" Ron asked blearily, sitting up in his bed.

"Nothing," Harry muttered, looking at the cover. He looked down at his bleeding finger and then to the bottom corner of the binding, where a pallid, ivory point stuck out from the cover. Harry squinted at it, trying to figure out what it was. He pushed and tugged on it but the shard wouldn't budge.

Deciding to bring the matter to Inuyasha, Harry shrugged and started back towards Inuyasha's room. This time he wasn't as cautious, his mind on the odd pieces in the Book's cover, and paid for it.

"Well, well—if it isn't another arrogant Potter strutting about the corridors as if he owned the castle."

Harry cringed at the oily satisfaction in the voice behind him.

"Now what would your beloved headmaster think about his favorite student out of bed?"

"As of late, I don't think the blackmailing bastard would be too surprised," Harry said before he could stop himself.

"That will be twenty points for your insolence, Potter, and another fifty for being out of bed past curfew. Now hand over whatever it is you're carrying and get to bed or it will be a detention."

Harry couldn't care less about the house points at this time in his life. After all he had been through, they were trivial.

But there was no way in hell he'd be giving Snape his Book. Especially when the bastard had the dark mark on his arm.

"Snape..." Harry said, backing up to the edge of the railing, "...Go fuck yourself."

Before an apoplectic Snape could open his mouth to give Harry detentions for the rest of the year, Harry jumped backwards off the railing, his body gracefully arching as he fell past several staircases that seemed to magically move out of the way, before landing in a crouch on the hall railing of the second floor. Harry casually hopped off and walked a short distance to Inuyasha's door.

"Chicken Nuggets," he said, using the password that only Inuyasha would pick. As it turned out, Chicken Nuggets was the name of an orange cat the half-demon once owned—one who had two fuzzy, giant, orange testicles. Hence the name.

Inuyasha hadn't returned yet, so Harry made himself at home by lying back on the couch and propping his feet up on the coffee table.

"Feet off the table."

Harry immediately moved his legs. Inuyasha plopped down besides him, putting his feet where Harry's were a moment before.

"So what the fuck is going on?" Harry asked impatiently.

Inuyasha blinked as if he were trying to wake himself up.

"Uh...well...let's just say the PTB warned me Voldemort might find an ally."

"And..."

"And...that's it."

"That's it?" Harry repeated skeptically, not believing him for a second.

Inuyasha nodded, still staring straight ahead. "So you want me to teach you occlumency?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. So how is it you know that? You said something about Azkaban..."

Inuyasha chuckled, "Yeah, I spent over a year there before I escaped. I was pretty lucky. Back then they usually had people kissed after a year to leave more room for others."

Harry made a face, "That's sick. What'd you do to end up there?"

"Basically...I was born."

"What?"

Inuyasha smiled and elaborated, "I am a half-breed."

"That's not a reason!" Harry said aghast, immediately thinking of Umbridge, "Wizards did this?"

Inuyasha nodded, "Medieval times and all that. Still, life's rarely fair, especially when you're a half-breed. But we have more fun, so it's worth it."

"So how'd you escape?" Harry asked, wanting to know more.

"Hmm. Oh yeah, a friend broke me out."

"Who?"

Inuyasha just smiled and shook his head, "That's not important."

Harry was still confused, "But why didn't you just break yourself out? I mean...dementors are from Hell right? And you're a guardian, so they shouldn't have had much authority over you, right?"

Inuyasha shook his head, "Nope. I wasn't a guardian then. And unfortunately the dementors have a similar affect on me as they have on you. Only difference is you can protect yourself most of the time."

Harry was speechless for a minute. He never actually thought of Inuyasha as having any weaknesses. The guardian had always seemed so carefree and powerful and to hear him speak of his weak point so casually was unnerving. The two sat in silence for a moment longer before Harry remembered something.

"Um, Inuyasha, what the hell is this?" he held up the book; the white bits shining in the lamplight. Inuyasha didn't even look at it.

"Oh, so you can see it now can you?"

"The flashy white things? Yes, I can see them. What are they and how did they get in there?"

"That," Inuyasha said, laying a hand on the book in Harry's lap, "is the remains of a dog demon's fang."

"Um, cool?" Harry replied, not quite following. "And there are chunks of it in the cover because..."

"I put it there," Inuyasha answered simply and honestly. Harry gave a frustrated sigh.

"For once can you just give me the whole damn explanation? What is the point?"

"The fang has a barrier that wards off demons. I did it to save me time and energy from having to keep the book out of demon hands."

"Then how can I touch it? I'm a demon, right?"

"No, you're barely a half demon. I've told you this before; half-demons are not demons. Only a half-breed would be able to see it in its transformed state. This tells me that you have barely looked at the book since you arrived at Hogwarts."

Harry was too confused to feel ashamed, "Transformed...?"

"Yes. The fang was once a sword."

"A...sword?"

"Mmhmm—named Tetsusaiga."

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The next morning at breakfast proved to be an interesting one. The moment Harry stepped through the doors he was greeted with the sight of at least thirty ministry officials and the minister of magic himself crowding around the head table. Not a fun way to start off the day. He craned his neck to see what Inuyasha thought of this. Inuyasha met his gaze and rolled his eyes, making a face at the minister that did not go unnoticed by Morgana, who swiftly elbowed him in the ribs.

"What?" Inuyasha asked innocently. Morgana narrowed her eyes at him.

"When will you grow up?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. "How about as soon as I get down your pants?" he said with bona fide zeal.

It took all of Morgana's vampire self-control not to smash his face in his eggs.

Harry snorted with laughter as he sat down, his demonic hearing allowing him to listen in on the conversation from across the hall. He was about to dig into his own helping of eggs when a looming shadow spread over his plate, the figure responsible directly behind him. Harry suppressed a groan.

"The death of Ms. Laurel Pince was a tragic one indeed, was it not Mr. Potter?" Fudge spoke with an underlying accusatory tone.

"Yes," he answered dully, not bothering to address the minister to his face. Fudge, miffed but not deterred, leaned over the back of his head further, practically breathing down Harry's neck as he tried to enjoy his breakfast.

"I hear that you were the last person with the body in a highly suspicious crime scene..."

"Is there something you'd like to say to me minister," Harry said, knowing exactly where this was going. "Because, quite frankly, I'd like to get back to my food and you're making it impossible to enjoy my breakfast with you breathing all over me."

This only served to elicit peals of laughter from the students for practically the entire Hall began listening in on their conversation since the minister walked up to him. The minister reddened dangerously.

"I am the minister and I demand respect," he said coldly.

"I'll respect you when you get off your ass and do something for the war." Harry said back with just as much ice in his voice.

There was a brief silence as Fudge glanced around at the many sets of eyes waiting for his response, and then:

"You stupid delusional boy, there is no war."

That did it for Harry. This man—the minister of the fucking wizarding world—refused publically announce Voldemort was back even when the majority of the wizarding world knew; even when there were dozens of witnesses in the atrium last year; even when attacks were being executed by death eaters every other week right under their noses.

"Are you shitting me?" Harry asked aghast, no longer caring who heard him. He wasn't aware that he was now standing on his feet. His hand held his wand in a death grip. "What the fuck do you think you saw last year at the ministry?"

"A farce," the minister said confidently as if he were prepared for such a question. "Roused by you and Dumbledore to cause more disorder to the ministry and deceive the people of wizarding Britain."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. That was the biggest load of shit he'd ever heard. Even some of the minister's lackeys looked skeptical for they too believed Voldemort was back. Not only that, but once again he was grouped in the same category as Dumbledore, which was quickly becoming a pet peeve of his.

"Wha-why-arrgh..." he growled at a loss for words, "Who the fuck voted for him?!" He finally managed to spurt out to the audience of students, teachers and ministry representatives that watched the exchange. One of the ministry officials meekly raised his hand.

Fudge opened his mouth, face mottled in fury, when Dumbledore spoke up.

"Cornelius, Harry; that is enough."

Harry ignored him as he approached, growling low in his throat, but not loud enough for any humans to hear.

"Minister, I assure you that Mr. Potter had nothing to do with our dear, late librarian's death. Now I would appreciate it if you took any more business of yours to my office and away from the eyes of these children and their breakfasts."

Harry idly wondered if Dumbledore just told the minister of magic that the breakfast had eyes. Fudge seemed to calm down and placed his bowler's hat back on his shiny, bald head.

"No, no. I think my business is finished here," he said with a scowl. He turned and looked at Harry with contempt. "I'll be watching you Potter."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said listlessly. He was tired now from getting so worked up so early in the morning. All he wanted was to eat his fucking eggs! Even if they did have eyes...

Fudge and his cronies left the premises of Hogwarts, leaving a very awkward silence in their wake. Much of the hall looked back and forth from Harry to Dumbledore, wondering if there was any juicy action left. They were severely disappointed when Dumbledore sighed and walked back to his seat while Harry simply dug into his eggs.

"Well, what the hell was the point of that?" Inuyasha asked, his voice echoing loudly across the mostly silent hall. Morgana groaned and dropped her head into her hands in a most unladylike fashion.

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Sorry. After I read the sixth book (loved it!) I had a bit of writer's block. I almost couldn't bring myself to portray Dumbledore as an dumdum anymore. But I did.

Anyhoo. Harry's stay at Hogwarts may come to an abrupt end in the next couple of chapters. There's going to be a big showdown coming up and we'll get to see some of Inuyasha's real powers. Woot.

Thanks for the reviews and your patience!


	32. The beginning of the End

**The Beginning of the End**

"Hey Harry," Ginny said, plopping down on the common room couch next to him. Harry looked up from his transfiguration book and smiled.

"Still talking to me?" he asked slyly.

A week had passed since the minister had visited the school and rumors were still flying around that Harry had something to do with the librarian's death. Even as he walked down the halls between classes, the sea of children would part, for fear of being his next victim. Once again he found himself at the suspicion of being a raving, murdering lunatic only this time Ron and Hermione weren't on his side.

His distance and short temper with them had eroded their bond thorough the last couple months, both of which were fueled by his distrust of them. He couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth about what he did in Hell. At first it was because he felt so betrayed by them for agreeing to report on him, no matter what their intentions were. But then he began to realize that there would be no possible way for him to spin his decision to destroy his humanity that wouldn't make him look like he had gone dark. There were too many boundaries, too many rules in the wizarding world. People used to look the other way when he broke them because it was for some higher cause, to save someone else's life. But this time it was for him to survive; purely selfish reasons.

It didn't matter much to him anyhow; he was busy enough as it was with the noticeable increase of demons keeping him busy. Now that he was on his toes again he could sense them before they even made it into the castle.

"Don't be a prat, of course I am. So are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" Ginny asked.

"I'll have to, won't I? Someone has to make sure Inuyasha doesn't royally screw up his chance with Morgana."

Ginny looked at Harry curiously, "Who?"

"Professors Nagasaki and Verchik."

Ginny seemed even more interested than ever.

"They're an item?"

"Not really. Inuyasha has just been pining over her the whole year and finally got her to go out with him. Well, more like tricked..."

Ginny made no comment as to why Harry was on a first name basis with a teacher he didn't even have. She was far more interested in her favorite professor's love life.

"But...why would he be interested in her? Nagasaki's so gorgeous and lively and funny, and Verchik is...well...not."

"I think she's hot," Harry said in her defense. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean she wasn't good looking. She just doesn't seem like she has much of a personality."

Harry nodded and smiled.

"I asked Inuyasha about that once. He said 'That may be but there is no more sexually charged creature on earth than a Vampire'." Harry laughed at Ginny's bewildered expression. "I know. Apparently they were involved once before and he said it was like she was a completely different person in bed and that it was the best violent sex he'd ever had."

"Harry!" Ginny gasped trying to fight off a laugh. A group of first years were staring at them since Harry spoke the last bit a little too loud. "You talk to professor Nagasaki about his sex life?"

"Its one of his favorite subjects," Harry said dryly. "He's an addict."

Ginny laughed and blushed, most likely thinking some naughty things about the young muggles studies teacher.

"Well I have to go and meet Dean in a couple minutes," Ginny said still slightly pink in the face. "I'll let you get back to your homework. Nice talking to you. Keep your chin up, alright?"

Harry waved her off and looked back to his book only to find it shadowed by someone standing overhead. Harry looked up, already knowing who it was.

"Stay away from my sister," Ron said stiffly. Hermione stood behind her boyfriend by a couple of feet, looking displeased.

"She came to me, I was just being polite." Harry said jadedly, not wanting to start a fight. "Can you step to the right a little? You're standing in my light."

Hermione stepped up before Ron could comment.

"Ron and I have been talking Harry and we know you had something to do with Madam Pince's death. You've been acting fishy ever since the summer. Your attitude and morals have gone downhill and I'm beginning to think you're going to start fighting in this war for the wrong reasons. It was different before, because we knew who you were and we knew we were all fighting for the same peace. But now...oh, I'm sorry Harry, but I don't think I can be friends with you. Not like before. Ron and I would like to get through this war alive and on the right side. I'm sorry."

Harry stared unblinkingly at her. Then he looked to Ron, who had calmed down slightly and was standing behind Hermione with a supportive hand on her shoulder. He closed his book and stood up.

"Fine," Harry said, even-tempered, before walking away from the couple. And just like that the rope that held the famous Golden Gryffindor Trio together was cut and a five-year friendship ended.

0o0o0o0o

* * *

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"What do you think? Do I look hot enough to score with a vampire?" Inuyasha asked as he turned to face Harry. Inuyasha, as usual, looked devastatingly handsome in a pair of dark, low-cut jeans that hugged his slim hips, a faded grey-blue t-shirt and a jean jacket. It was the last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas break, meaning nearly everyone in the castle planned on spending their time in the village buying Christmas presents.

"Don't tell me you actually think she'll put out?" Harry asked dubiously as he spun around in a swivel chair. "You're good, but you're not _that_ good."

"She will," Inuyasha said with a confident wink. "And, for the record, I _am_ that good."

Harry sighed. While he both admired and envied Inuyasha's confidence, it sometimes got out of control.

"Wait a minute," Harry gasped. "How will she walk around outside? The sunlight—!"

"She's a daywalker," Inuyasha interrupted. He bent down and reached into his cooler, pulling out a couple bottles of firewhiskey and held one out to Harry.

"I'm a minor," Harry stated pointlessly, accepting the bottle.

They sat for a while and chatted, sipping at their drinks. It was nice for Harry to have someone older and more experienced in just about everything to talk to. Inuyasha had become a mixture of a father, brother, mentor and best friend all in one; filling the gaping hole left in his heart from the neglect of the Dursleys, the death of Sirius, the duplicity of Dumbledore, and the abandonment of his friends. He honestly didn't know what he would do if Inuyasha was ever taken out of his life.

"Ready to go down?" Inuyasha asked, stretching his arms over his head and standing up. The pair walked down to Hogsmeade, meeting Morgana at the entrance to the wizarding village. She looked enticing in a long black skirt paired with a black and red lace corset, enhancing her pale features. She wore a fitted black cloak for warmth and her long black hair cascaded down her back gracefully. Somehow, this woman could rock the color black.

"Well, this is where I leave you," Harry said walking towards the three broomsticks. "You kids behave."

He didn't really know what to do with himself. He could always buy his presents for everyone, but what friends did he have left? Well there was Inuyasha of course, and probably Alaina and Bridget; there would also be Ginny and Shiva and Tai...

Once establishing a rough list in his mind, the buzz of lingering firewhiskey in his veins keeping him warm against the chilling air, Harry proceeded to fill his afternoon with gift shopping. Hours passed before the residents of Hogwarts began to head back to the castle, by which time Harry had successfully found a gift for everyone he could think of. He had started his own path back to the warmth of the castle when a strong hand clasped onto his shoulder, stopping him. His nose told him who it was.

"What's up?" he asked turning to face Inuyasha. He was surprised to see a slightly distressed look on the half-demon's face. Morgana stood a few feet behind him looked disconcerted herself.

"Don't leave just yet," Inuyasha commanded.

Harry threw him a suspicious look.

"Why?"

Inuyasha never got the chance to answer.

A loud explosion of screams and lights erupted from the center of the village. Death eaters seemed to pour out of every store and alleyway, fully robed and wands out, ready to take out as many people as possible. Without a second's warning, green lights blazed everywhere; the people of Hogsmeade were unprepared for the onslaught and many fell dead before they knew what was going on.

Within seconds aurors and members of the Order apparated in all around, leaping into action. Whichever teachers weren't fighting spent their efforts desperately trying to get the children back to the castle. Many of the students complied willingly but there were several who stayed and fought. Most were members of the old DA, taking direction from Ron and Hermione, others were older students stubbornly lending their services, and the rest were junior death eaters who were doing what they could to help their parents.

The biggest surprise of all, however, was the presence of Lord Voldemort. He only stood out amidst the chaos by the shade of his black robes and wide, red eyes, his pale complexion blending perfecting with the snow covered setting. He stood regally beyond the fighting, observing the scene with majestic supremacy, daring anyone to challenge him. It was only a matter of time before Dumbledore engaged in combat with the self-proclaimed lord.

Harry started, fully intent on joining the fight, when Inuyasha grabbed his shoulder once more.

"No," he said.

"But why," Harry yelled angrily, turning to face him again. He jumped, letting out an audible gasp. Inuyasha had reverted into his half-demon form—and he only did that when he was out of site of humans or if he were about to fight. And judging from the way Inuyasha shrugged out of his jacket on this cold, snowy day, with purpose, Harry would have to guess it was the latter.

"Use your damn nose," Inuyasha barked, throwing his jacket at Morgana. He turned to her next. "Go back up with the kids and make sure nothing follows them."

She nodded and left.

"But where are they?" Harry asked, sniffing around for demons. He could smell them faintly and had suspected they were farther away if Inuyasha could sense them so well. Inuyasha's smell and hearing far surpassed his own, after all.

"Can't you feel it?" Inuyasha asked. Harry gave him an odd look. All he felt was cold. And who wouldn't? He was covered in snow. Even his insides were cold.

Harry gasped. He recognized the familiar chill that shook the core of his bones, and it steadily grew as the seconds passed. He knew what this was, he knew why Voldemort looked so smug, standing there on raised ground, not seeming remotely concerned that Dumbledore was quickly making his way towards him. The ground began to shake, throwing many of the duelers off their feet, and a long fissure formed down the street of the once peaceful village.

The beginnings of a forced opening to hell.

"Get ready," Inuyasha grinned. Hordes upon hordes of demons began mounting through the break, immediately attacking any human they came across, including death eaters. A long, serpentine demon had burst through the ground between them. Before Harry could so much as make a move, Inuyasha deftly bonked the demon on the head, shattering the skull with unmatchable strength, killing it.

"Page five hundred forty seven; now go get the book!" Inuyasha ordered.

"But-" Harry started, wanting to fight.

"Go!"

Pausing only to deliver an annoyed growl at Inuyasha, Harry dropped his human appearance, knowing no one would notice in all the commotion, and sprinted towards the castle at an unimaginable speed. He reached it before any of the escaping students even made it onto the grounds and wasted no time and jumping through the closed window to his empty dorm room—the shards of glass barely scratched his skin, most bouncing harmlessly off the resilient layer.

It took all but two seconds to whip out the book from his trunk and flip to page five hundred forty seven.

"Soul trapping," Harry muttered reading the title of the page. His eyes widened considerably as he read through the instructions, "Oh hell..."

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Thanks for the reviews though, they make me smile. This story is almost over, and then we can get onto the sequel and finally get Kagome in there. Yay!

...cheer with me damnit.

Anyhoo- just to reassure certain people: This is not H/G. I thought it was cute in cannon, but it annoys me in fanfiction. The only person who can pull it off in my opinion is Rowling. Besides, I already have who Harry's gonna end up w/ in the sequel and I will make it ridiculously obvious too. Actually, I think I already have .


	33. The End of the End

**The End of the End**

_Last time..._

"_Soul trapping," Harry muttered reading the title of the page. His eyes widened considerably as he read the instructions, "Oh hell..."_

0o0o0o

* * *

0o0o0o

Harry leapt back towards the roaring town of Hogsmeade where screams and curses could be heard for miles. In no time at all he was situated beside Inuyasha, who simply stood above all the commotion, hands in his jeans, like he hadn't a care in the world. The only thing that indicated otherwise would be the hard, blazing look in his eyes as he stared pointedly at any demon that pursued whichever human wasn't wearing a white mask.

"_Human sacrifices_?" Harry hissed at Inuyasha. The man didn't break his eye contact from whatever task he was carrying out; he continued to give pointed looks at certain demons as if he were silently communicating with them. Whatever demon he looked at would look up at him with something akin to anger, shock or fear, and then change course and go after a death eater.

"We have a bunch of willing ones right here," He stated, gesturing to the death eaters that were being torn open by the demons.

Harry blinked, "Weren't the demons supposed to be after everyone other than the death eaters?"

"I persuaded them otherwise," Inuyasha said simply. As Harry looked around, he noticed the tides had turned slowly into their favor in his short absence.

Despite the fact that many aurors, Order and DA members ran off at the sight of demons, the remaining ones seemed to be fairing quite well with the demons' sudden contribution to the dwindling numbers of death eaters.

Harry looked to see if Voldemort had noticed this as well but the creature was otherwise preoccupied with Dumbledore—who seemed to be losing.

"Everyone is distracted. You know what to do."

"Do you think this will work?" Harry said doubtfully. He had read the inscription thoroughly before returning and it seemed to be quite difficult. The human sacrifices were probably needed in part for the vast amount of blood required.

Inuyasha shrugged, "If it worked for me, it will work for you."

Harry nodded and jumped into the fray. He was a bit shocked to see many demons look at him, freeze up, and then dismiss him, but passed it as Inuyasha's doing. He set to work on grabbing any abandoned, bloodied bodies of death eaters and dragging them to the correct positions that the book instructed. Once that was done he took his wand and began cutting the bodies and artfully sprayed every last drop of blood he could milk from their corpses in a particular design. In the center was a five-point star of blood with a body at each tip and a wide circle of blood around that had yet to be completed.

All Harry needed was just a few more liters of blood. He looked around and spotted a body not too far off from his right. It seemed freshly killed with a large bite mark in the neck and his vocal cords hanging out—but something about the oily scent seemed familiar. Putting his task on hold—despite being in the middle of a raging battlefield—Harry slipped off the mask to see a curtain of black, greasy hair fall out and frame the pale face of one Severus Snape. His glazed obsidian eyes seemed warmer in death than they did in life, as though he was given a great relief of some sort.

Harry shrugged. It wasn't any of concern of his; he just wanted the man's blood. Harry threw the body on the ground and used the cutting curse to cut open the carcass. He then levitated the blood and used it to complete the circle. The giant rune glowed for a moment, showing its completion. Now all Harry needed was Voldemort in the middle. But as he looked around he realized there were too many demons to do anything more, for demonic blood would tarnish the ritual completely.

"Inuyasha—!" He called out for help but stopped short. Inuyasha stood at the end of the street with his eyes closed, seeming at peace, but his aura had suddenly become visible. It pulsated with a dark purple light and Harry could only stare in awe. Even after witnessing Dumbledore at his best, Harry had never seen anything as powerful or spectacular as this. Each pulse seemed to ripple the air and stop whatever actions the demons were in the midst of, while the humans kept on fighting, unawares.

Inuyasha then opened his eyes and the air chilled. A high-pitched ringing knelled throughout the air, causing massive waves of fear to roll off the demons. They behaved as if they knew what was coming. Starting at Inuyasha's feet, a small wave started to roll in the Earth, which gradually picked up in speed and size. It traveled the length of the street, spreading in an arch and covering the whole ground of Hogsmeade. As it moved it seemed to suck any demon it rolled under into the ground and off the face of the human Earth.

Within seconds, all that was left were several aurors and Order members, a few students, a handful of death eaters, and a shit load of bodies.

"Woah," Harry breathed in admiration. That was power, pure and simple.

"Focus," Inuyasha said sternly, his aura dissipating in an instant. Harry jolted and nodded, turning just in time to see Dumbledore go flying into a wall, hitting the stone with a sickening thud and sliding to the ground unconscious.

Voldemort smirked, "Avada Ke—"

His moment of triumph was cut off as a stinging, blood-red whip wrapped around his waist and threw him off his feet into the center of the street. Shocked, he looked up to see a black-haired youth grinning darkly at him several feet away; a dripping, crimson whip lay limp in his hand.

"Potter!" Voldemort hissed, too furious at being cheated to notice where he stood. "_Crucio_!"

"Contego" Harry said quickly. A thin wall of blood rose up from the lines of the outlaid pattern and blocked the harmful light. Voldemort's anger melted into shock as he witnessed someone successfully parry an unforgivable. It was then that Voldemort looked around and realized, for the first time, just how badly he was losing; most of his minions littered the ground and the hundreds of demons he summoned were strangely absent.

Harry's smile stretched; he had been waiting for this moment for five years. It was high time to finish this and he had to act fast while Voldemort was dazed.

"**Animus decipio abduco hic contemptus animus a barathrum...**" Harry muttered lowly in Latin. He pulled out his dagger in an instant and slit both his wrists; the few witnesses left standing on the battlefield gasped, appalled, but Harry paid them no heed. Instead he focused on the incantation as manacles of blood shot up from the design and latched onto Voldemort's limbs.

"What? What is this magic?" Voldemort screeched, attempting to shoot spell after spell at the blood chains. Nothing would work. Suddenly the cold earth within the wide circle Harry had laid began to liquefy and redden, until it transformed into a murky sort of miasma. More blood chains shot out from it and began to pull Voldemort to his impending death. Whatever death eaters were left saw this and tried to run, only to be tackled down by aurors.

"Damn, you Potter, I'll kill you! Avada—acck!" Voldemort was cut off once again by a chain that jumped up from the ground behind him and wrapped tightly around his neck. He sputtered and glared angrily at Harry, managing to spit out a few choice words. The chains began to pull him into the depths of hell faster as the red miasma swirled around Voldemort.

"Don't think this is the end, Potter," He rasped out, "I'll only grow stronger no matter where you send me. You wait Potter—you and your dog will face my revenge soon enough!"

Harry knew there was one last thing he needed to do to complete the spell. He looked at Inuyasha who tipped his head in assent.

"I don't think so, snake-bitch," Harry sneered, turning back to Voldemort. "I've reserved a special place in Hell for you and since we're best mates and all that I figured I should escort you there personally. You know, just so you don't get lost or anything."

With out any more warning, and much to the horror of any remaining Order members and his former friends, Harry jumped into the liquid miasma and pushed down Voldemort's head, successfully submerging the darkest wizard of the century into the blanket of Hell's liquid fire.

"Harry!" several people cried out, drawing more attention to the ritual taking place.

"What are you doing?!" someone hollered coarsely; Harry thought it could have been Neville.

"I have to finish this or he'll just come back," he snapped over his shoulder, paying no heed to the survivors. He looked up and made eye contact with Inuyasha. The man wore an uncharacteristic look of anxiety on his face.

"I'll see you in a few," Harry whispered so only Inuyasha could hear, to which the man nodded with a ghost of a smile on his face and a proud, far-off look in his eyes. Harry took a deep gulp of air and dived down after Voldemort—the murky, red plasma turning back into ground the second he was clear from view.

"NO!" Ginny screamed as one of the few remaining DA members who had witnessed Harry's apparent demise. She ran forward to where Harry was seconds before and collapsed on the ground, pounding her fist on the hard dirt as if to will it back open, tears streaming down her face. A strong hand grabbed her arm just as she was about to punch the ground once more and she was pulled to her feet. She drove her face into Neville's chest and continued sobbing. It shouldn't have ended like this. Harry didn't deserve to die this way.

Many people had gathered around the area where Harry had disappeared, bloodied and tired, some crying while others were silent in shock.

"He can't have...Harry didn't just..." Ron couldn't finish his sentence, the words choked up within his throat. He missed most of what happened, only just arriving to see Harry shout something about finishing Voldemort and then disappearing into the ominous miasma. His brain refused to sort out what he witnessed as too many conflicting emotions clashed within him.

"W-where...where did Nagasaki go?" an auror asked looking around for the man who played a uncertain, but somehow essential, role in the sudden battle.

"I don't know, but did you see what he looked like?" another murmured back in wonder. "Was it just me, or did he look like a demon too?"

"What does it matter? Harry's dead!" Hermione cried, openly sobbing. Not so long ago she tried to cut ties with him, thinking he had gone down a path she could not follow.

And then he went and sacrificed himself for the demise of Voldemort, proving to her he was still the same kind-hearted boy she met on the train in first year. The self-loathing she felt was unimaginable. She had been such a fool!

"Yes, and I hope you can all appreciate what he has done for our future, and us," Dumbledore spoke up, limping towards the crowd. He had come to just in time to see Harry save him from imminent death and then follow Voldemort into hell to make sure he stayed there. How he was wrong about that boy.

A silent tear slid down his cheek and into his beard as he continued, "Today is a day...that shall be remembered throughout time. Today is the day a man, a man who never had the chance to be a boy, gave us back our lives, our freedom, and our futures. Today we will celebrate the downfall of the once feared Voldemort. A downfall at the hands of a student with more bravery and heart than any grown man could ever possess. To Harry Potter!" Dumbledore finished with a shout, shooting a gale of red and gold sparks into the air.

"To Harry Potter!" the crowd rang out in tears and memories, following the wizened wizard's example.

Inuyasha lifted his head as he heard his charge's name being called out by the very people who had caused him so much trouble. He gave a shaky sigh and looked at the dark and cloudy sky.

"I'm going after him!" Inuyasha called out to the heavens. "You're not stopping me this time!"

The gloomy clouds only rumbled in response—to which any human would think it a pretense of a storm. But as a hand to the PTB, Inuyasha got the message loud and clear.

"I know," Inuyasha muttered with a hint of sadness in his eyes, "I know it is far from over."

And suddenly the man who had spent the last four hundred sixty two years trying his best to learn and live for the sake of one sixteen-year-old boy disappeared; swallowed by the ground and launched into the deepest pits of Hell, reserved for the worst of the worst, where he knew his charge would be putting the finishing touches on a spell that would one day be broken.

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It is done.

Well, that's it for Demon Hunter anyway. Thanks for the reviews you guys!!! It's been great. But it doesn't end here! Oh, no. I've got people to pair up and kill off and resurrect and reunite and what not.

So move onto Demon Hunter's sequel: Millennium!

Good stuff, good stuff.


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